❓ Ms. Baker questions the Minister for Water on the effectiveness of the McGowan government's hardship measures for Water Corporation customers. The Minister responds by highlighting a reduction in water restrictions due to early intervention programs.
AnsweredQoN 677Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WATER CORPORATION — HARDSHIP MEASURES
677. Ms L.L. BAKER to the Minister for Water:
I refer to the large number of
struggling households that had their water supply cut off under the previous Liberal–National
government. Can the minister please update the house on how the measures the
McGowan government has implemented are helping Water Corporation customers who
are facing hardship?
677. Ms L.L. BAKER to the Minister for Water:
I refer to the large number of
struggling households that had their water supply cut off under the previous Liberal–National
government. Can the minister please update the house on how the measures the
McGowan government has implemented are helping Water Corporation customers who
are facing hardship?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question.
I find it pretty distasteful that members opposite should laugh at the
suggestion that struggling households were having their water effectively cut
off in large numbers under the previous government. The Water Corporation does
not completely cut off the water of non-payers; it reduces it to a trickle, so
that if they are patient, they can get a glass of water, but they cannot have a
shower and they cannot use their washing machine. Under the previous Liberal–National
government, every working day, Monday to Friday, nine families in Western Australia
were having their water reduced to a trickle for non-payment of bills.
Mrs A.K. Hayden interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Darling Range, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr D.J. KELLY : Almost 2 500
families a year in Western Australia were having their water reduced to a trickle
under the government of members opposite. When I came —
Mrs A.K. Hayden interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Darling Range, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr D.J. KELLY : It is interesting
that the member for Darling Range has just asked how many are happening now,
under this regime, because I am about to tell her. When we came into
government, one of the first issues I raised with the Water Corporation was the
level of these restrictions. I said it was simply not acceptable for such a large
number of families to experience this because of bill shock.
Mrs A.K. Hayden interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Darling Range, I do not want to hear your voice again.
Mr D.J. KELLY : I initially
said to Water Corporation, ''I want you to see if you can reduce the
number of families that experience this situation by 20 per cent.'' The
Water Corporation went away and had face-to-face conversations with some of the
concession holders and some of the families who typically had the most
difficulty paying their water bills. Out of that program, the Water Corporation
has introduced a number of initiatives to assist people. One is the bill shock
prevention program. When the Water Corporation identifies a household that has
had an unusual spike in its water usage, usually due to a leak, then rather
than just sending out a bill and letting the family reel in horror at what is
going on, it now intervenes personally to speak to the household about the
situation. To date in 2018, 654 customers have benefited from that early
intervention program. We have introduced a greater early intervention program
across all customers who are experiencing difficulties.
As a result of that early
intervention program, the number of families who have had their water
restricted has decreased—not by 20 per cent, but actually by 57 per
cent. In the financial year 2017–18, the number of families who
experienced that went from nearly 2 500 down to 1 063. That is a 50 per cent
reduction in the number of families who have experienced that inconvenience,
not because they are now not paying their bills, but because the Water
Corporation is talking to those customers early, putting them on payment plans,
and people are managing to get through whatever the difficulties were that
caused them to get into difficulties with their water bill.
On top of that, I mentioned that the
Water Corporation actually contacted —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! You
sound like a rabble.
Mr D.J. KELLY : In addition to
the face-to-face conversations that the Water Corporation had with some of
those customers in hardship, it also introduced a number of other initiatives.
One is called Medical Assist, which we previously announced. That is a program
for people who are on home dialysis and are therefore having —
Mrs A.K. Hayden interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Darling Range, I call you to order for the third time.
Mr P.C. Tinley interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister for Housing, I call you to order
for the first time.
Mr D.J. KELLY : People who are
receiving home dialysis have extraordinarily high water bills, so under Medical
Assist, people getting home dialysis now get an allowance of 180 000 litres of
water per annum free. To date, 78 Western Australians on home dialysis have
registered for that program. Home dialysis is difficult at the best of times;
having to worry about their water bill is something that we, as a government,
think those people can do without. The good news is that we have assisted people
to pay their water bills, and the Water Corporation has done that within its
existing budget. This is an example of how on our side we care about the people
of Western Australia. We want to assist them by making it easier for them to
pay their utilities, including their water bills. If we are smart about it, we
can do this without a significant increase to the public purse.
I find it pretty distasteful that members opposite should laugh at the
suggestion that struggling households were having their water effectively cut
off in large numbers under the previous government. The Water Corporation does
not completely cut off the water of non-payers; it reduces it to a trickle, so
that if they are patient, they can get a glass of water, but they cannot have a
shower and they cannot use their washing machine. Under the previous Liberal–National
government, every working day, Monday to Friday, nine families in Western Australia
were having their water reduced to a trickle for non-payment of bills.
Mrs A.K. Hayden interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Darling Range, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr D.J. KELLY : Almost 2 500
families a year in Western Australia were having their water reduced to a trickle
under the government of members opposite. When I came —
Mrs A.K. Hayden interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Darling Range, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr D.J. KELLY : It is interesting
that the member for Darling Range has just asked how many are happening now,
under this regime, because I am about to tell her. When we came into
government, one of the first issues I raised with the Water Corporation was the
level of these restrictions. I said it was simply not acceptable for such a large
number of families to experience this because of bill shock.
Mrs A.K. Hayden interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Darling Range, I do not want to hear your voice again.
Mr D.J. KELLY : I initially
said to Water Corporation, ''I want you to see if you can reduce the
number of families that experience this situation by 20 per cent.'' The
Water Corporation went away and had face-to-face conversations with some of the
concession holders and some of the families who typically had the most
difficulty paying their water bills. Out of that program, the Water Corporation
has introduced a number of initiatives to assist people. One is the bill shock
prevention program. When the Water Corporation identifies a household that has
had an unusual spike in its water usage, usually due to a leak, then rather
than just sending out a bill and letting the family reel in horror at what is
going on, it now intervenes personally to speak to the household about the
situation. To date in 2018, 654 customers have benefited from that early
intervention program. We have introduced a greater early intervention program
across all customers who are experiencing difficulties.
As a result of that early
intervention program, the number of families who have had their water
restricted has decreased—not by 20 per cent, but actually by 57 per
cent. In the financial year 2017–18, the number of families who
experienced that went from nearly 2 500 down to 1 063. That is a 50 per cent
reduction in the number of families who have experienced that inconvenience,
not because they are now not paying their bills, but because the Water
Corporation is talking to those customers early, putting them on payment plans,
and people are managing to get through whatever the difficulties were that
caused them to get into difficulties with their water bill.
On top of that, I mentioned that the
Water Corporation actually contacted —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! You
sound like a rabble.
Mr D.J. KELLY : In addition to
the face-to-face conversations that the Water Corporation had with some of
those customers in hardship, it also introduced a number of other initiatives.
One is called Medical Assist, which we previously announced. That is a program
for people who are on home dialysis and are therefore having —
Mrs A.K. Hayden interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Darling Range, I call you to order for the third time.
Mr P.C. Tinley interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister for Housing, I call you to order
for the first time.
Mr D.J. KELLY : People who are
receiving home dialysis have extraordinarily high water bills, so under Medical
Assist, people getting home dialysis now get an allowance of 180 000 litres of
water per annum free. To date, 78 Western Australians on home dialysis have
registered for that program. Home dialysis is difficult at the best of times;
having to worry about their water bill is something that we, as a government,
think those people can do without. The good news is that we have assisted people
to pay their water bills, and the Water Corporation has done that within its
existing budget. This is an example of how on our side we care about the people
of Western Australia. We want to assist them by making it easier for them to
pay their utilities, including their water bills. If we are smart about it, we
can do this without a significant increase to the public purse.
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