Water Pricing

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (16:53): My question is to the Premier. Has the new ESCOSA CEO, Adam Wilson, been given an understanding like the former CEO, Dr Paul Kerin, that the water industry would undergo considerable economic reform?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (16:53): ESCOSA has all the protections of this parliament and the legislation that has been passed in their creation. The chief executive and the board are independent of government. I can issue instructions but the way they regulate is a matter for them, not a matter for the government. I point out again, it is long practice in Australia across all jurisdictions that the regulatory play book and the rule book that the Australian governments have all signed up to, including Liberal governments, is that prices must be determined by taking into account the actual costs of doing business. Comparing the delivery of water in such a decentralised state as Queensland to such a centralised state as South Australia is unfair. It is unfair and not accurate, and you could not make regulatory recommendations on that basis.

Mr Whetstone: It should be cheaper in South Australia. It should be; it is not, though.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I would take this seriously if I didn't think it was such a joke. The reality is, you can't compare the delivery of water in Queensland with the delivery of water in South Australia. I make this point: the dividend we have received in 2014-15 is the actual contribution minus the concessions and is $26 million—$26 million. So much for the cash cow.