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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-05-07 Daily Xml
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Water and Sewerage Infrastructure

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (14:50): I seek leave to make a very brief explanation before asking the illustrious Minister for Climate Change and the environment some questions regarding water wastage.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: On Monday I turned on the radio to hear the Minister for Climate Change attacking, once again, our Prime Minister, the Hon. Mr Tony Abbott, about the fact that he was dragging the chain on climate change. By coincidence, at the same time I was working on some documentation that I had received regarding South Australia dragging the chain on conserving water. I am advised, from documentation, that the minister received a briefing note in 2013 advising that SA Water was changing its policy to a left-running policy. By left-running policy, that meant that certain leaks that were not causing damage (the repairs scheduled were not high priority) would just be left running. We have the highest water costs in Australia and yet I am also advised that—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Brokenshire has the floor.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: Thank you for your protection, Mr President.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: I am also advised that South Australia, in the year 2013-14, had losses of water through leaking pipes and burst mains of 12.8 gigalitres. That is more than the desalination plant can produce in a year. My questions to the minister are:

1. Why is the government allowing as much water, if not more water, to be leaked through burst and leaky pipes than the desalination plant has the capacity for?

2. Are these leaks adding to the enormous increases over the last few years in water prices to battling South Australians desperately trying to pay for enough water to flush the loo?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (14:52): Mr President, what a load of bunkum. I've got to say it.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: It's all true.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: He stands up here, or sits down here now and says, 'It's all true. It's all true.'

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: I've got the documentation.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: 'I've got the documentation.' Like Chamberlain at the beginning of World War II, he says, 'I've got the document that proves Hitler will always be our friend.' Well, I have to say, here he is handing a document saying, 'We've got the most expensive water in the country.' They were both wrong, Mr President, both wrong, and I will take him to that issue. If I can keep speaking on my feet for six minutes I can talk to him about a document which will beat the embargo of 3 o'clock and give him the information he needs to understand that in fact he is completely wrong—completely wrong. Over the past three years, South Australia—

The Hon. S.G. Wade interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Well, if we make a decision about that it might help me at some stage. Over the past three years, 2011-12 to 2013-14, SA Water has spent, on average, $46.4 million per annum on direct routine maintenance and repairs, including breakdowns, to its infrastructure across the state. Can someone let me know when it's 3 o'clock? The cost is directly attributed to maintenance activities undertaken on individual assets and does not include the cost of operating, monitoring and managing those assets on a day-to-day basis.

In addition to the asset maintenance costs, SA Water also invests significant capital in the ongoing renewal of its infrastructure. Over the past four years, SA Water has invested $92 million, on average, in the renewal of its pipe networks, treatment plants, water storages and other related infrastructure, with last year's spend reaching approximately $120 million (in 2013-14), I am advised.

The recent SA Water engagement program has shown that customers were satisfied with the level of service and reliability provided by SA Water. In any business that you care to contemplate, you make determinations about expenditure on your maintenance program—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: I must say that it staggers me that people on the same side as the minister are interjecting and making it difficult for him to give his answer. I think it is a matter of respect. I might expect it from the opposition, but I certainly do not expect it from our side. The honourable minister, please finish your answer in silence.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Thank you, Mr President. I assume the—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Minister, continue.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Thank you, Mr President. As I was saying, businesses make decisions about their inputs and costs which are rational for their business. SA Water's pipe network is in good condition. The average age of water mains is 50 years, I am advised, and regional water mains on average are slightly older than metropolitan Adelaide water mains—

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: Every morning you hear about a burst main.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Well, of course there are, Hon. Mr Dawkins. We've got 26,000 kilometres of pipes, Mr Dawkins. You think you can have 26,000 kilometres of pipes—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Don't buy into it.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: —and not get a burst? Clearly, Mr President, again the Liberal Party, in conjunction with the Hon. Mr Brokenshire, is going to be embarking on driving up water costs to SA consumers. That is what they are doing; that is what the Hon. Mr Brokenshire is alluding to. They want to gold-plate the network, Mr President. The Australian water industry anticipates that water pipes will have useful lives between an average of—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Minister, can you please sit down. I do not think it is appropriate; yesterday we only managed probably four or five questions less than we normally do. It is not appropriate. The minister should be able to answer his question. And minister Maher, I think it is totally outrageous that I cannot see you through the minister but I can hear you. I think it is outrageous that you do that while he is on his feet. The honourable minister, please get up and finish your answer, and members will allow him to do it in silence.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Thank you, Mr President, for that backhanded compliment about my spreading waistline. The Australian water industry anticipates that water pipes will have useful lives between an average of 80 and 150 years, depending on soil conditions, pipe material and construction standards. SA Water's pipe network is therefore relatively young by urban water industry standards. Supplying water to 1,605,000 people across the state, SA Water owns 26.984 kilometres of water mains—I am sorry, Mr President, I misled the house; I said we had 26,000 kilometres where in fact it is 26,984 kilometres of water mains—with a gross replacement value, I am told, just for the pipes, of $7.3 billion as of June last year.

The statewide water main failure rate has been quite stable for the last 10 years, I am advised. This is as a result of SA Water's comprehensive and sustainable asset management strategy for water mains. Adelaide's network failure rates compare favourably with those of other Australian major water utilities with water networks containing more than 100,000 connected customers. Monitoring of the 2013-14 figures has shown a reduction in the metropolitan failure rate, to 15.7 failures per 100 kilometres a year.

As of 13 April 2015, SA Water has had 1,150 failures within the metropolitan network and, based on historical trends, it is projected to equate to a failure rate of 17.7 failures per 100 kilometres a year for the 2014-15 period. This projection is well below the failure rate KPI of 21 failures per 100 kilometres per year set under the Water Industry Guideline No. 2 (December 2012) by the Essential Services Commission of South Australia.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Of course, when the Hon. Mr Brokenshire goes on the wireless and grandstands about these figures, he does not talk about failure rates in other jurisdictions. He does not talk about failure rates and pipes around the world in water networks. No, he pretends that no-one else has a failure rate at all. Pipes don't burst in Victoria according to the Hon. Mr Brokenshire. Pipes don't burst in Sydney or Brisbane according to the Hon. Mr Brokenshire, only in South Australia. Well, here are the figures that belie what he says on the wireless. Here are the figures that say—

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: The Hon. Mr Brokenshire goes out there and does not tell the complete truth, Mr President, only that little bit that he thinks will get him a little spot on one of the radio shows on the wireless. SA Water's regional water networks perform better than the metropolitan network, due in large part to the relatively high incidence of the Hon. Mr Ridgway's imaginary expansive and reactive clay soils of the Adelaide metropolitan area, the reactive and clay soils that the Hon. Mr Ridgway does not believe exist. Monitoring of the regional 2013-14 failure rate has also shown a reduction in the regional failure rate of 9.4 failures per 100 kilometres per year.

As of 13 April 2015, SA Water has had 1,335 failures within the regional network, and based on historical trends it is projected to equate to a failure rate of 10.5 failures per 100 kilometres per year for the 2014-15 period. This projection is slightly above the failure rate KPI of eight failures per 100 kilometres per year as set under the water industry guidelines No. 2 by ESCOSA. However, when compared with other water utilities through the national performance report, it is performing very well—the national performing report the Hon. Mr Brokenshire has probably never looked at.

In terms of leakage costs, I am advised that the estimated water loss through SA Water's metropolitan pipe network was estimated to be 12,868 megalitres (this is very precise), and it was about 0.6 per cent less than the year before, 2013. Water loss that is considered unavoidable is estimated to take up 99 per cent of that amount. Unavoidable water lost as a result of leaks—

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Minister, you asked us to remind you at 3 o'clock.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I will turn to another briefing in a moment. Water loss is considered unavoidable if water is lost as a result of leaks or bursts that occur in pipes that are within the standard parameters for average pressure, length and number of connection points.

I have an awful lot more to give the Hon. Mr Brokenshire, the things that he does not mention on the wireless, of course, the pretence that he has that pipes do not break anywhere else in the world, but to that other incredible claim, the incredible claim—

The Hon. S.G. Wade: When did he say that?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Well, of course, the Hon. Mr Wade, he never says it. He never talks about comparable rates interstate, never ever says that South Australia has an excellent record in comparison to rates interstate. He never says that, because he is not interested in the truth; he is only interested in the partial truth. The other incredible claim he made (and others in this place sometimes make) is that we have the highest water prices in the country. Let me just brief the Hon. Mr Brokenshire. Here he is, still standing to this position.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: We do.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: 'We do', he says. He is completely wrong. The latest national performance report was released on 7 May 2015 at 3 p.m. Based on estimated water consumption of 200 kilolitres per customer per annum a comparison of interstate water and sewerage bills reveals that in 2013-14 SA Water had the ninth lowest estimated water and sewerage bills out of 13 utilities. Logan, Gold Coast Water, Unity Water in Queensland and Yarra Valley Water in Victoria were more expensive than SA Water.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: No, it absolutely is not. It is actually a direct comparison done at a national level on utilities with at least 100,000 connected properties. Based on typical residential water consumption—the actual average annual volume of residential water consumed for each utility—a comparison of interstate water and sewerage bills reveals that in 2013-14 SA Water had the tenth lowest typical water and sewerage bill out of 13 utilities.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Oh, well, the honourable member does not like figures when it does not suit his story. This is the national performance report. Based on the 2014-15 prices and water consumptions of 200 kilolitres per customer per annum, SA Water has undertaken a similar comparison of water and sewerage bills, and this comparison is not restricted to only utilities with at least 100,00 connected properties. This comparison shows that SA Water has the ninth lowest estimated total water and sewerage bills out of 20 utilities. All Queensland utilities rank higher than SA Water, along with the Northern Territory—

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: On a point of order: in light of your concern, Mr President, about lack of questions, the minister has been on his feet for 11 minutes on this question.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Half the time he is responding to other people's interjections—which he should not do. Secondly, the Hon. Mr Brokenshire has made a number of statements, and however the minister answers the question is up to him, but he is now informing him that apparently he is not right. I think he has the right to finish.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I am almost done. The Hon. Mr Brokenshire does not like the truth when it does not suit his world view, or the story he likes to go out—

The Hon. T.J. Stephens: You wouldn't know the truth—

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: The Hon. Terry Stephens says he can't handle the truth and that is true. He cannot handle the truth, because it does not back up his assertions. I will repeat: all of the Queensland utilities rank higher than SA Water, along with the Northern Territory's Power and Water and Victoria's Yarra Valley Water. When comparing single service only using the 200 kilolitre methodology, SA Water has the 12th lowest water only bill and the fourth lowest sewerage only bill.

No longer should the Hon. Mr Brokenshire go around talking on wireless programs and claiming that we have the highest water prices in the country. He is absolutely wrong, and I hope he comes in here and corrects the record and apologises to South Australia for continually running down our state. When he goes on the radio, or the wireless, to talk about these issues, let's do a comparison. Let's do a comparison with other utilities around the country and he will then be the first to say, 'South Australia is leading again with cheaper water prices than other jurisdictions.'

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