❓ Dr. Honey questions the Minister for Water about high water bills for low-usage households, specifically citing a single mother in Como. The Minister explains the breakdown of charges and defends the government's budget decisions regarding service charge increases.
AnsweredQoN 975Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WATER —
RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES
975. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Water:
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! It is
getting closer—one week, two hours and 10 minutes. Calm down.
Dr D.J. HONEY : I refer to
Cathy, a single mother who lives in a small unit in Como, who I would like to
quote —
I am unemployed. I am finding water
bills the hardest to pay. My last bill was $6.90 water usage and amounted to
over $200 because of service charges.
Can the minister explain to Cathy
why her water bill is $200 when she uses only $6.90 of water?
RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES
975. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Water:
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! It is
getting closer—one week, two hours and 10 minutes. Calm down.
Dr D.J. HONEY : I refer to
Cathy, a single mother who lives in a small unit in Como, who I would like to
quote —
I am unemployed. I am finding water
bills the hardest to pay. My last bill was $6.90 water usage and amounted to
over $200 because of service charges.
Can the minister explain to Cathy
why her water bill is $200 when she uses only $6.90 of water?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Cottesloe.
Can I explain to his constituent —
Several members interjected.
Mr D.J. KELLY : Sorry, from
Como.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr D.J. KELLY : Can I explain
to the member for Cottesloe that it has been the case with water bills for as
long as—I do not know; for as long as Parliament has been here,
probably—that there has a component for service charge and a component
for water usage. The first part is for fixed costs in the system. The second
part is for the water people actually use. I think the point of the member's
question is how is it that the service charge is so high and the water usage
component is so low, and someone like Cathy feels aggrieved that no matter how
frugal she is with her water use, she still cannot get over the big fixed
charge. The member will probably be surprised, because I am not sure that he
paid too much attention to the budget that we handed down, but in the last
budget that we handed down, if he remembers, the budget that the former
government left us with would have had a six per cent increase in the service
charge and a six per cent increase on the water usage component.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine!
Mr D.J. KELLY : So Cathy's
service charge would have gone up by six per cent had members opposite still
been in government. What we did in the last budget was halve the increase on
the service charge. So Cathy's increase under us was half of what it
would have been had members opposite still been in government. We recovered the
income that we lost by not increasing the service charge by the six per cent the
former government had planned, and we used that to give a price signal to the
biggest users, many of whom live in the member for Cottesloe's
electorate. That is precisely to assist a constituent like Cathy, who has to
pay a service charge and a water usage charge. She is really frugal with her
water usage, so rather than slug her with a six per cent increase on the
service charge, which the former government had planned, we halved that
increase. So the member for Cottesloe should go back and tell Cathy that he has
raised this with the Minister for Water, and I have explained to him —
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine!
Mr D.J. KELLY : — that
it is precisely people like Cathy who we are concerned about. That is why we
have halved the increase on the service charge and sent a price message to the
people who use much more water than she does.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine, I call you to order for the third time.
Can I explain to his constituent —
Several members interjected.
Mr D.J. KELLY : Sorry, from
Como.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr D.J. KELLY : Can I explain
to the member for Cottesloe that it has been the case with water bills for as
long as—I do not know; for as long as Parliament has been here,
probably—that there has a component for service charge and a component
for water usage. The first part is for fixed costs in the system. The second
part is for the water people actually use. I think the point of the member's
question is how is it that the service charge is so high and the water usage
component is so low, and someone like Cathy feels aggrieved that no matter how
frugal she is with her water use, she still cannot get over the big fixed
charge. The member will probably be surprised, because I am not sure that he
paid too much attention to the budget that we handed down, but in the last
budget that we handed down, if he remembers, the budget that the former
government left us with would have had a six per cent increase in the service
charge and a six per cent increase on the water usage component.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine!
Mr D.J. KELLY : So Cathy's
service charge would have gone up by six per cent had members opposite still
been in government. What we did in the last budget was halve the increase on
the service charge. So Cathy's increase under us was half of what it
would have been had members opposite still been in government. We recovered the
income that we lost by not increasing the service charge by the six per cent the
former government had planned, and we used that to give a price signal to the
biggest users, many of whom live in the member for Cottesloe's
electorate. That is precisely to assist a constituent like Cathy, who has to
pay a service charge and a water usage charge. She is really frugal with her
water usage, so rather than slug her with a six per cent increase on the
service charge, which the former government had planned, we halved that
increase. So the member for Cottesloe should go back and tell Cathy that he has
raised this with the Minister for Water, and I have explained to him —
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine!
Mr D.J. KELLY : — that
it is precisely people like Cathy who we are concerned about. That is why we
have halved the increase on the service charge and sent a price message to the
people who use much more water than she does.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine, I call you to order for the third time.
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