Premier Beattie - hands off Toowoomba's water assets ...

Excerpt from the Chronicle:

Hands off our water

5 April 2007

Hands off our $400 million in water infrastructure assets is the message to Peter Beattie from an anxious band of Toowoomba councillors.

Alarms resounded in City Hall again yesterday.

Councillors have feared a takeover for more than a decade.

It moved closer when councillors heard "detailed information about water business assets, financials, existing contracts, human resources and payroll systems" was requested and, dutifully forwarded to the Queensland Water Commission last Friday.

The call had come from Premier Peter Beattie for the commission to investigate the alternative option of restructuring the water supply and service functions, courtesy of a single water service provider responsible for the delivery via a transfer of asset ownership.

Price Waterhouse Coopers will analyse the information.

Snow Manners immediately told his colleagues he'd warned them.

In February, he and Keith Beer had opposed council agreeing to sign off on a grid manager to control and sell the flow of water, but allow councils to retain their assets.

Councillors, at the time, were protective of the assets the ratepayers had paid for, for more than 60 years.

They called for legal advice.

Chief executive officer Phil Spencer gave them unwelcome news in a briefing late yesterday.

They were told the State Government legislation is stronger than the Local Government Act. Councils can't protect their infrastructure.

But Mayor Dianne Thorley will join the 17 mayors of the Council of Mayors in Brisbane today.

"I don't intend laying down," she said.

"But I don't intend pushing the Premier into a corner, what this is about is trying to get the best possible result in the south-east corner; retain our infrastructure and for a water manager to sell the water and we get a dividend because of our investment in the past," Cr Thorley said.

She's hoping the mayors will remain calm, so sanity can prevail.

See - Beattie clamours for water assets.

Don't expect Mayor Thorley to stand up for the rights of Toowoomba ratepayers. Her only interest is in a 'quick and dirty' deal with Premier Beattie. Remember her 'do anything say anything' approach to try to force Toowoomba residents to drink recycled water.

Any deal struck with Premier Beattie for a handover of Toowoomba's water assets so they can be bundled into a water privatisation to provide further funds for Beattie to waste would be a fraud on the Toowoomba ratepayers who have paid for these assets.

Any Toowoomba City Council Councillor who agrees to give Toowoomba ratepayers' assets to the State government without full compensation is leaving themselves open to action for negligently managing the resources of the Toowoomba community.

The exemption from personal liability for Councillors under the Local Government Act does not extend to negligent actions.

Tread carefully Councillors ...