Redland City Council is ramping up its fight against state government water charges as major price rises loom.
The move comes as the Queensland Competition Authority calls for submissions on two preferred charging options for Seqwater bulk water from July 1 to June 30, 2021.
Mayor Karen Williams said although council was responsible for distributing water, many residents did not realise the authority bought bulk water from Seqwater and had no control over the price.
Ratepayers’ water prices had increased to meet a common bulk water price set by the government.
“Bulk water costs increased from $1.717 per kilolitre in 2013-14 to $ 2.561 per kilolitre in 2017-18,” she said.
“This is an increase of more than 49 per cent over four years.”
Until 2008 bulk water supplies were mainly a council responsibility.
The government took over water supply when hit by dwindling supplies caused by the Millenium Drought. It set a 10-year price path to repay debt incurred through building the SEQ water grid and other facilities.
In December Queensland Competition Authority chairman Roy Green said a common price was expected to apply by the end of the decade.
“Eight of the councils in south-east Queensland have already reached a common price, with the Sunshine Coast, Noosa and Redland City needing to make up some more ground,” Professor Green said.
“This year the government has asked the QCA to present two pricing options, one that would see the common price reached by all councils in 2019-20 and the other ... in 2020-21.
“Under the first option, the current bulk water price for the eight councils paying the common price – Brisbane, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Moreton Bay, Scenic Rim and Somerset – of $2.82 per kilolitre would rise by 3.2 per cent in 2018-19 and 2.5 per cent in 2019-20.
“The price for Sunshine Coast and Noosa would increase by 7 per cent and 6.5 per cent, year-on-year, while the price for Redland city would rise by 8.2 per cent and 7.6 per cent.
“Under this option, these councils would reach a common price of $2.98 per kilolitre in 2019-20, with everyone seeing a forecast rise of 2.5 per cent to $3.06 per kilolitre in the following year.
“Under the second option, the common price ... would rise by 2.8 per cent in each of the three years.”
Under the second option Redland consumers would see rises of 6.5 per cent, 6.1 per cent and 5.7 per cent, with a common price of $3.06 per kilolitre to apply to all 11 councils by 2020-21.
Redlander Frank Robinson said he was annoyed about constantly rising water costs.
“The main point that concerns me is the massive state government tax that is imposed on one’s water consumption,” Mr Robinson said.
His rates showed that he had used $21.24 of water but paid $92.20 in state taxes.
Cr Williams said bulk water costs had increased 49 per cent in four years.
Council would support the QCA’s option two.
