WATER LICENCE CHANGES ERODE HUNTER WATER ACCOUNTABILITY

Tuesday, 07 June 2011 14:06

Proposed changes to Hunter Water’s Operating Licence seriously undermine public accountability and transparency of water management in the Hunter, leading to threats to the region's sustainability, according to the Total Environment Centre (TEC).

Hunter Water’s Operating Licence is the key regulatory instrument governing and auditing the environmental, social and financial performance of Hunter Water. The licence is currently under review and the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has proposed a number of amendments to transfer key performance standards to subsidiary plans.

TEC Water Campaigner Leigh Martin said “Hunter Water’s use of flawed and misleading evidence and inadequate environmental impact assessments throughout the Tillegra Dam fiasco showed that it cannot be trusted to conduct itself in an open and accountable way. Dumbing down the Operating Licence in the name of ‘cutting red tape’ will do nothing to improve water management in the Hunter.”

Proposed changes include transferring current standards for water quality, environmental water and public reporting to ‘licence plans’ or ‘reporting manuals’. It is unclear whether these plans will be developed with public consultation and how performance against them will be assessed.

“Any ‘licence plans’ or ‘manuals’ should be treated as part of the licence itself and subject to the same level of audit as the rest of the licence. It is vital that plans be developed with full public consultation and independent environmental review,” Mr Martin said.