Water Pricing

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (14:39): My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer inform the house of efforts being made to ensure equity in water pricing across the state?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:40): The National Competition Policy requires government to run its businesses the same way as the private sector, earning a real rate of return. However, unlike the private sector, this government reapplies the returns on its investment for the public good. We ensure that the money goes back into our communities, not interstate or abroad.

Over the financial year period 2014-15, the government is forecast to receive $196 million in contributions from SA Water. The government will return this money to the community in two very significant forms of return on this income—first, our community service obligation payments back to SA Water in the amount of $126 million, which lower water and sewerage prices and provide for community services, community service obligations that we ensure regular customers do not pay more for than metropolitan customers. For example, without these subsidies, customers in Eyre Peninsula could pay at least 200 per cent more for their water.

The second major return made to SA Water customers during this period is water and sewerage concession payments of $43 million that benefit low income water and sewerage service customers. Payments are made to ensure that the most vulnerable in our community are supported.

Last year the government took a major step in economic reform of water and sewerage services, handing over licensing and revenue-setting powers to ESCOSA. With the pricing orders in place, the ESCOSA determination resulted in a 6.4 per cent reduction in water prices and a commitment that prices would rise by no more than CPI for the next two years.

On Monday the opposition questioned why we are subsidising so heavily—why are we subsidising so heavily? Why are we ensuring that our rural and remote citizens do not pay punishing amounts for their water supplies? That was actually a question posed by the Leader of the Opposition to the Premier on radio. Because we believe, unlike members opposite, living in the driest state in the driest continent, our community deserves water security into the future. We do not believe in selling off our assets and seeing those returns go overseas. This government will ensure that SA Water continues to provide benefits for all South Australians on a level playing field, even if members opposite think that rural people should be paying more for their water.