❓ Mr Catania asks about further steps to reduce water industry regulation following the Water Services Act 2012. The Minister details benefits of the Act, including streamlined licensing and ongoing reform efforts to address climate change and resource limits.
AnsweredQoN 930Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WATER SERVICES INDUSTRY REGULATION — WATER SERVICES ACT 2012
930. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the
Minister for Water:
Last year, the Liberal–National government introduced
the Water Services Act 2012, reducing red tape for the water services industry.
What other steps is this government taking to reduce unnecessary regulation
across the water industry?
930. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the
Minister for Water:
Last year, the Liberal–National government introduced
the Water Services Act 2012, reducing red tape for the water services industry.
What other steps is this government taking to reduce unnecessary regulation
across the water industry?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. He is entirely right—the
Water Services Act 2012 and its supporting regulations did come into effect
late last year. The old legislation for water services was spread across 10 separate
acts, and many of the provisions were quite difficult to interpret. That made
it a very hard and expensive process for anyone who was trying to understand
the law and how it applied in a particular case. We have seen since this new
legislation was passed that Busselton Water has expanded its operating licence
in the south west to take advantage of the new level playing field that has
been created by this act. In a state the size of Western Australia, with a vast
range of different water resources and communities, it is important that we
have legislation and regulations that are flexible to meet the needs of local
communities. An example in the member's electorate is the Shire of Murchison.
The Shire of Murchison has applied under this new legislation for an exemption
from the requirement to hold a licence to provide a water supply service to the
Murchison settlement. Only about 20 people live in the Murchison settlement,
and the water is sourced from two different bores. Given the remote location
and the small scale of the service, the previous regulatory burden was quite
high, and the imposition from the licensing under the previous legislation was
quite considerable. This new legislation will allow it to apply for an
exemption, and we will still make sure that it is operating within a certain
licence, but it will certainly reduce the burden for that small community.
Saving time in licence processing and management also allows the government to
increase its efforts in other areas of water management. We have had fewer
licence applications to process and a faster turnaround of applications
awaiting assessment, and that is a win for the whole community.
We are currently working on further reform in this space—the
second stage of water reform—and the range of proposed reforms have
been presented to the public in a consultation process. This is, again,
streamlining very old and outdated legislation into a single contemporary act.
This proposed legislation will be more capable of accommodating the fact that
we live in a drying climate, have water resources that are reaching their
allocation limits, and there is a more complicated environment than perhaps
when the original legislation was envisaged and created. Ultimately, we will
simplify that process. We are continuing to work under the current legislative
framework, but I know that in the coming months we will endeavour to try to
progress that even further, and, hopefully, in the new year we will see further
legislation to streamline that process.
Water Services Act 2012 and its supporting regulations did come into effect
late last year. The old legislation for water services was spread across 10 separate
acts, and many of the provisions were quite difficult to interpret. That made
it a very hard and expensive process for anyone who was trying to understand
the law and how it applied in a particular case. We have seen since this new
legislation was passed that Busselton Water has expanded its operating licence
in the south west to take advantage of the new level playing field that has
been created by this act. In a state the size of Western Australia, with a vast
range of different water resources and communities, it is important that we
have legislation and regulations that are flexible to meet the needs of local
communities. An example in the member's electorate is the Shire of Murchison.
The Shire of Murchison has applied under this new legislation for an exemption
from the requirement to hold a licence to provide a water supply service to the
Murchison settlement. Only about 20 people live in the Murchison settlement,
and the water is sourced from two different bores. Given the remote location
and the small scale of the service, the previous regulatory burden was quite
high, and the imposition from the licensing under the previous legislation was
quite considerable. This new legislation will allow it to apply for an
exemption, and we will still make sure that it is operating within a certain
licence, but it will certainly reduce the burden for that small community.
Saving time in licence processing and management also allows the government to
increase its efforts in other areas of water management. We have had fewer
licence applications to process and a faster turnaround of applications
awaiting assessment, and that is a win for the whole community.
We are currently working on further reform in this space—the
second stage of water reform—and the range of proposed reforms have
been presented to the public in a consultation process. This is, again,
streamlining very old and outdated legislation into a single contemporary act.
This proposed legislation will be more capable of accommodating the fact that
we live in a drying climate, have water resources that are reaching their
allocation limits, and there is a more complicated environment than perhaps
when the original legislation was envisaged and created. Ultimately, we will
simplify that process. We are continuing to work under the current legislative
framework, but I know that in the coming months we will endeavour to try to
progress that even further, and, hopefully, in the new year we will see further
legislation to streamline that process.
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