Essential Services Commission

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:20): My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer outline the time frame for the Essential Services Commission to finalise its regulatory determination for the period 2020 to 2024?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:20): I thank the honourable member for his question. I think it's useful to clarify some misunderstanding, perhaps in some sectors of the community, in terms of the process from yesterday's draft determination to a final decision. The independent regulator yesterday released its draft determination. I won't take the time of the council in going through the details of that.

The independent regulator has made it quite clear that they are open to taking submissions on their draft determination, and I would imagine that SA Water and indeed, in the last 24 hours, some regional communities have expressed a view contrary to some of the views expressed by the independent regulator in their draft determination about potential expenditure that SA Water may or may not be allowed to undertake. Indeed, any other stakeholder may well make submissions. I know that, at varying stages, stakeholders as diverse as SACOSS and Business SA have made submissions to the independent regulator on this important issue of the regulatory determination of the independent regulator on SA Water.

The independent regulator says that its final determination will be made in May. The independent regulator will take submissions for a period of time, consider those submissions and then, as I said, issue their final determination at some point in May. There are other issues that the government is responsible for and has to determine. The Minister for Water has to issue directions to SA Water in relation to, for example, what its community service obligations may or may not be for the coming regulatory period. The government has to issue water industry licence fees, and I as Treasurer have to issue the regulatory asset base value (RAB value) to be taken into consideration by the regulator for the next four-year period.

All that will occur during the period leading up to May, and then some time prior to the end of the financial year the government is responsible for setting the water pricing tariffs; that is, in essence, the price that will be charged over the next four years by SA Water for water and sewerage costs. That decision is ultimately a decision for the government, and it will need to be taken prior to the end of the financial year so that those prices will apply from 1 July.