Water & Sewerage Reform

The State Government has formed the Ministerial Water and Sewerage Taskforce to investigate Reform of the Tasmanian Water and Sewerage Sector. The major issue coming out of their discussion paper was the Government's need for structural reform; that is, the possible formation of a new Statewide or Regional Water and Sewerage Authority. This website seeks to:

What Will it Mean for You?

  • An increase in water and sewerage charges to pay for the upgrade of other councils' systems, which do not comply with current standards or do not even exist. Burnie residents now enjoy fully compliant systems unlike most other councils.
  • An increase in Council's General Rates to finance the resulting inefficiencies from losing over 33% of Council's current business activities
  • Loss of Burnie Council's recent investment of over $18 million in a new sewerage treatment plant and associated works
  • Loss of local ownership of Council's Water and Sewerage assets which would cost $173 million to replace in today's values. It appears that any reform will transfer this investment without full compensation
  • Burnie has diverted its investment base from other exciting projects to meet tough environmental standards, and this deprival will continue on after the assets have been transferred
  • Water and sewerage services being managed by a body other than Burnie City Council would mean loss of control of where and when investments are made in building new water and sewerage reticulation for our expanding base
  • Potential for loss of employment of local people with centralisation of the services to the south of the state.