Water at centre of looming Local Govt crisis

Either Tasmania has local councils responsible for local areas or not. The State government needs to make up its mind and act and so do local councils ‘water’ is the kind of problem that will not go away.

Currently this is all about more taxpayer/ratepayer money going to highly paid bureaucrats, not to mention subsidising  inefficient and incompetent councils and in the end maintaining the status quo in the self interest of the leaners and the lift-avoiders – we all know who they are.

In the meantime aldermen/councillors sit around arguing about important things like new city logos or the wording of the Annual Report

We need to ask: if ‘water services’ are to be provided on a Statewide basis and its not an offering for a specific local geographic area, when will the State Government start a realistic  conversation about 21st C service with local government?

Pontificating and tell communities such conversations are over the horizon, after the next State election, or something else, is just not good enough. When small councils lose the financial support of TasWater’s dividends, local services will surely suffer. It does not need to be like that.

This is not jus an amalgamation issue or even one to do with getting rid of local government even either will deliver the kind of benefits. It is a conversation abot how best to deliver and at what level to deliver services to the diversity of Tasmania’s communities, especially those not in large urban centres.

TasWater's $2.4 billion in needed upgrades could see corporation sidelined, economist says
ABC_  Georgie Burgess <http://www.abc.net.au/news/georgie-burgess/7880586>

The mission to upgrade Tasmania's aging water and sewerage systems could see responsibility for the services taken out of TasWater's hands, according to a leading economist.

Two-thirds of the state's sewage treatment plants do not meet environmental licence conditions and numerous towns are still subject to boil water alerts or "do not consume" notices.

A plan to rationalise the number of sewage treatment plants, provide safe drinking water to all serviced towns and upgrade the state's drinking water system would cost $2.4 billion.

But TasWater's inability to cover the cost has been laid bare in a report by the auditor-general, according to Labor and the Greens. The council-owned body made an underlying profit of $11 million for the year to July 2016 — down $14 million on the previous year.

Over the same period, TasWater increased borrowings by $64 million to $430 million. Read more here http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-15/taswater-struggling-to-find-enough-to-cover-upgrades/8123294?WT.ac=statenews_tas