Qld government's $6.6m water advisory feeding frenzy ...

Excerpt from the Sunday Mail:

Water advice costs $6.6m

11 November 2007

As the southeast prepares for Level 6 water restrictions, the Queensland Water Commission has already hit level 6.6.

That is $6.6 million spent in the past year on consultants and contractors.

The commission, established in June last year, made a big splash in seeking outside help.

But the annual report released last week has few details of actual spending on consultancies, other than: "regional policy and planning, water reform, corporate policy and governance, demand efficiency and substitution, and communications".

Only Health and Main Roads spend that sort of money each year on consultants, although the State Government as a whole has spent more than $100 million in the past three years.

The commission and the Department of Natural Resources and Water combined spent over $9 million on consultants in the financial year.

The Coalition called for more disclosure from the State Government as there were few explanations in the report about what the water consultants did for the money.

Opposition Leader Jeff Seeney said nine years of neglect of water infrastructure had sent the Government in to a "political panic trying to deliver a raft of projects as quickly as possible".

He said the Coalition wanted freedom of information laws amended to require details to be published on the internet when consultancies or contracts involved $150,000 or more.

DNR and Water's consultancy bill was $223,853 in 2006-07, $74,259 in 2005-06 and $6990 in 2004-05, compared to this year's $5.4 million spend, according to Mr Seeney.

"The Government employs more than 520 spin doctors at a cost of more than $40 million a year, yet the Water Department communications' consultants spending increased three-fold," Mr Seeney said.

"The Government needs to shift its focus away from spin and on to building new water infrastructure to get southeast Queensland out of the crisis."

In addition to $6.6 million on consultants and contractors, the water commission spent $5.3 million on advertising and $3.7 million on wages, salary and employee expenses.

The annual report says the commission relied on both staff and specialist contractors and consultants "in a range of projects".

"Major tasks performed by consultants included assisting with planning and policy matters and helping to develop the South East Queensland Water Strategy," the report says.

Commission staff also travelled to the US in 2006-07, at a cost of $15,526, to inspect water recycling facilities.

See - Anna's $6.6m for consultants.