❓ Mr. Kelly questions the Minister for Water regarding increases in water bills and their impact on Western Australian families, citing hardship grant applications, penalty interest, and water restrictions. The Minister defends the government's actions, highlighting support programs and accessibility improvements.
AnsweredQoN 155Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WATER CORPORATION — HARDSHIP UTILITY GRANT SCHEME
155. Mr D.J. KELLY to the
Minister for Water:
I refer to the answers given by the minister in this house
and the other place that reveal that in 2014, for the first time, over 1 000
Western Australians were forced to apply under the hardship utility grant
scheme for assistance to pay their water bills, in 2013–14 a record
number of 423 000 Western Australians paid record amounts of penalty interest
on late water bills, and last year a record number of 2 279 Western Australians
had their water restricted because of the non-payment of bills.
(1) Will the
minister acknowledge that the massive increases in water bills put in place by
this government are causing real pain for Western Australian families?
(2) Will she
take action to stop growing numbers of Western Australian families having their
water supply reduced to a trickle?
(3) Will she
guarantee that the three six per cent annual water increases foreshadowed in
the budget will now not go ahead?
155. Mr D.J. KELLY to the
Minister for Water:
I refer to the answers given by the minister in this house
and the other place that reveal that in 2014, for the first time, over 1 000
Western Australians were forced to apply under the hardship utility grant
scheme for assistance to pay their water bills, in 2013–14 a record
number of 423 000 Western Australians paid record amounts of penalty interest
on late water bills, and last year a record number of 2 279 Western Australians
had their water restricted because of the non-payment of bills.
(1) Will the
minister acknowledge that the massive increases in water bills put in place by
this government are causing real pain for Western Australian families?
(2) Will she
take action to stop growing numbers of Western Australian families having their
water supply reduced to a trickle?
(3) Will she
guarantee that the three six per cent annual water increases foreshadowed in
the budget will now not go ahead?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question.
(1)–(3) There
were three parts to the question and they related to access to the hardship
utility grant scheme , penalty
interest and restrictions. Members will understand that the Water Corporation
does not want anyone to get to the point at which penalties apply to their
bills, and the organisation has a raft of things in place to assist customers
to pay their bills. We have put the increase in the number of applications to
HUGS down to the fact that the government has recognised that vulnerable people
in the community require assistance and has made it easier for them to apply
for grants. We have made it more accessible as they no longer need to see a
financial counsellor before they access HUGS. There has been an increase
because we have made it easier for people to access HUGS so that the most
vulnerable in our community are looked after.
In relation to penalty interest and
restrictions, last month the member was reported in the media talking about a
huge percentage of customers who had had their water restricted. The Water
Corporation puts this in place as a very last resort. It is a small number out
of the two million customers who are serviced by the Water Corporation every
day. As the provider of an essential service, the Water Corporation will not—I
would never condone it—turn off the water. If customers refuse to
engage with the Water Corporation to make sure that they can pay their bill or
because they are under pressure, it will trigger a water restriction. They will
still be able to flush the toilet and have a shower —
Mr
D.J. Kelly interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Bassendean!
Mr
P. Papalia interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro!
Ms
M.J. DAVIES : Absolutely not, member. If people contact the Water
Corporation, penalty interest will not be applied to their bill. They can make
a dollar-for-dollar payment to pay down their bill if they get into trouble and
they can access programs such as HUGS. There is a suite of things in the
organisation and across government that supports the vulnerable people in our community.
The Water Corporation applies the restrictions only if people refuse to engage
with it, but water will still come out of the tap. If they engage with the
organisation, the water will be turned back up to its normal pressure. I might
add that this is done for only 10 days. Normally, when that happens, the
customer contacts the organisation and the water pressure is resumed and they
start working through a payment process.
The member has been making vexatious claims that this is an
enormous amount of the customer base. It is not. It � is a small percentage of the two million
customers serviced by the Water Corporation every day.
Mr P. Papalia interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Warnbro, I call you to order for the second time.
Ms
M.J. DAVIES : We will continue to support the most vulnerable people in our
community. I would say to anyone who has concerns about, or is having trouble
paying, their water bill that the Water Corporation offers flexible payment
options and there are support services and that they should contact the Water
Corporation as soon as they get themselves into trouble. We are not about
turning off people's water and we are not about penalising them. The
corporation does not want to get to that point.
(1)–(3) There
were three parts to the question and they related to access to the hardship
utility grant scheme , penalty
interest and restrictions. Members will understand that the Water Corporation
does not want anyone to get to the point at which penalties apply to their
bills, and the organisation has a raft of things in place to assist customers
to pay their bills. We have put the increase in the number of applications to
HUGS down to the fact that the government has recognised that vulnerable people
in the community require assistance and has made it easier for them to apply
for grants. We have made it more accessible as they no longer need to see a
financial counsellor before they access HUGS. There has been an increase
because we have made it easier for people to access HUGS so that the most
vulnerable in our community are looked after.
In relation to penalty interest and
restrictions, last month the member was reported in the media talking about a
huge percentage of customers who had had their water restricted. The Water
Corporation puts this in place as a very last resort. It is a small number out
of the two million customers who are serviced by the Water Corporation every
day. As the provider of an essential service, the Water Corporation will not—I
would never condone it—turn off the water. If customers refuse to
engage with the Water Corporation to make sure that they can pay their bill or
because they are under pressure, it will trigger a water restriction. They will
still be able to flush the toilet and have a shower —
Mr
D.J. Kelly interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Bassendean!
Mr
P. Papalia interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro!
Ms
M.J. DAVIES : Absolutely not, member. If people contact the Water
Corporation, penalty interest will not be applied to their bill. They can make
a dollar-for-dollar payment to pay down their bill if they get into trouble and
they can access programs such as HUGS. There is a suite of things in the
organisation and across government that supports the vulnerable people in our community.
The Water Corporation applies the restrictions only if people refuse to engage
with it, but water will still come out of the tap. If they engage with the
organisation, the water will be turned back up to its normal pressure. I might
add that this is done for only 10 days. Normally, when that happens, the
customer contacts the organisation and the water pressure is resumed and they
start working through a payment process.
The member has been making vexatious claims that this is an
enormous amount of the customer base. It is not. It � is a small percentage of the two million
customers serviced by the Water Corporation every day.
Mr P. Papalia interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Warnbro, I call you to order for the second time.
Ms
M.J. DAVIES : We will continue to support the most vulnerable people in our
community. I would say to anyone who has concerns about, or is having trouble
paying, their water bill that the Water Corporation offers flexible payment
options and there are support services and that they should contact the Water
Corporation as soon as they get themselves into trouble. We are not about
turning off people's water and we are not about penalising them. The
corporation does not want to get to that point.
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