Premier Beattie - give me SEQ water assets ...
... or I'll take them anyway.
More of that "do what I want or else" attitude from Premier Beattie.
Excerpt from Sydney Morning Herald:
Beattie faces battle over water takeover
12 March 2007
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie is facing a battle with local councils over a proposal for the state government to take control of water infrastructure.
Mr Beattie has called on local councils to voluntarily hand over control of water or face new laws.
City and shire councils in the state's south-east have said they will campaign against a doubling of water charges, which Queensland's water commission has proposed to pay for $8 billion worth of new infrastructure.
Mr Beattie has accused the councils of profiteering from existing water charges and not reinvesting money in infrastructure.
On Monday Mr Beattie upped the stakes, saying the state government would seize control of water projects if councils did not cooperate.
"We are not going to end up over the next 12 months with (Brisbane Lord Mayor) Campbell Newman and all the other councils out there scoring cheap political points just to get re-elected," he said.
"Today I want to ask them to hand it over without the need for legislation."
Mr Beattie said there were 19 water storages within 18 councils and a "whole string of multiple ownerships".
"We need one authority ... in the south-east corner to run water," he said.
"We've had enough of the nonsense. We're not interested in ongoing argy-bargy. We want to deliver certainty on water and that's exactly what we'll do."
He ruled out compensating councils if a takeover went ahead.
Queensland does not control water storages, which are mostly owned by local councils.
He said Queensland and Tasmania were the only states in Australia where water was run by local government (sic).
It was unknown how the authority would work, but under the proposal councils could be required by law to continue collecting water revenue.
Mr Newman, who is also the chairman of south-east Queensland's Council of Mayors, said a takeover would not work.
"We're opposed to a takeover because it's just the premier playing games," he said.
"The premier is doing everything he can to distract people from the core issue, which is the mayors saying families shouldn't have to cop $1,000 a year water bills."
See - Beattie in childish asset grab.
Of course, aggregating SEQ's water assets under one corporate entity is just one step away from privatisation.
More and more Premier Beattie is sounding like some Aussie-accented third world dictator ...
posted by Concerned Ratepayer at 6:25 AM
2 Comments:
Beattie prepares for privatisation.
Excerpt from the Courier Mail:
Beattie orders water review
13 March 2007
Premier Peter Beattie has today ordered a review of the state's water infrastructure, to be run by leading accountant Darryl Somerville.
The appointment comes after Mr Beattie yesterday threatened to take responsibility for water from southeast Queensland councils, further straining their already shaky relationship.
In his water infrastructure role, Mr Somerville - who has previously reviewed the state's electricity distribution networks - will examine Queensland's water storage, pipeline and treatment facilities and report back to Mr Beattie.
Mr Somerville is the former managing partner of Price-Waterhouse Coopers in Brisbane.
Mr Beattie yesterday insisted he would legislate if the councils failed to give up their water responsibilities voluntarily.
"Unless there is a very good reason as to why they will not hand it over then that is exactly what we will do," he said.
So Beattie takes over the water assets for nothing, then bundles them into a corporate entity and flogs them off - with all the profits going into State coffers to help prop up his ever growing bureaucracy.
10:37 AM, March 13, 2007
Seems others think Beattie is behaving like some third world dictator.
Excerpt from the Courier Mail:
Beattie loses cool in crisis
15 March 2007
Premier Peter Beattie has been accused of behaving like an "irrational dictator" while at the same time trashing Parliament's customs.
The accusations were levelled against the Premier yesterday by Coalition Leader Jeff Seeney, following heated scenes during Parliament's question time.
Mr Beattie used Parliament to claim the Coalition had voted against every single piece of water infrastructure proposed by the Government during a special motion passed last year.
He then used the Government's hefty majority to extend the time he had to answer a Labor backbencher's question on the issue, a move opposed by both the Coalition and the Independents.
12:47 PM, March 15, 2007
Post a Comment
<< Home