Latest Update
30 May 2007 - Advance Burnie Media Release
QUESTION MARK OVER STATE'S MANAGEMENT OF WATER REFORM
Advance Burnie has questioned the ability of the State Government to adequately manage water and sewerage infrastructure under any reform proposal.
The Chairman of Advance Burnie said that in an initial Discussion Paper, the Water and Sewerage Taskforce had predicted that a maximum of $400 million would be required to meet the needs of communities around Tasmania.
The State Government is now predicting that $850 million will be required to fix water infrastructure alone, without even considering the need for investment in sewerage infrastructure,
Mr Hodgetts said.
One has to wonder if the State Government has bitten off more than it can chew. More to the point, the Tasmanian community has to ask if the government has the ability to meet the challenge of providing water and sewerage. Given the issues with Bass Link, optic fibre and the gas roll out, we believe the Tasmanian public is yet to convinced that the Government has the capacity to manage water and sewerage.
Mr Hodgetts said that one thing his Board was certain of, was that the people of Burnie would be hardest hit by any proposed reforms.
If the rest of Tasmania does require this sort of investment to meet supply and safety concerns, then obviously the City of Burnie will be last on the list of priorities for further expansion or upgrading of infrastructure, regardless of the future development and growth of the City.
This will effectively compromise economic development for not only Burnie but the entire Cradle Coast region,
Mr Hodgetts said.
And no doubt with a Hobart based State-wide Authority we will see priority being given to south of the State.
We would call on the Premier to act now to ensure a full and complete analysis of the situation is completed. We also believe a number of options should be considered to solve water and sewerage issues for the State.
ENDS
30 May 2007
For more information contact Des Hodgetts 0409 210 257
