The questions Anna Bligh doesn't want you to ask about SEQ water ...

Excerpt from Courier Mail:

14 December 2010

ESTIMATES PREPARATION 2010, POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

Funding and staffing

What were staff levels last year?

What are staffing levels this year?

How much is staffing to cost the taxpayer this financial year and what is the difference between this and last financial year figures?

What is the difference in total funding between this year and last year?

Why do you need $28 million when the premier said the role of the QWC was being scaled back?

How many consultants and contractors do you still have on the books?

Why did you pay three commissioners given you now think you can achieve your goals with only one?

Where will the $22 million in savings over four years been cut from?

Isn't it just cost shifting by removing the CER corporate services arms of the QWC to DERM while also committing to no job losses?

How many consultants and contractors are being moved over to DERM as part of this restructure?

Why did you spend $2.3 million on new HQ when your role is winding back so much and it is half empty because of resignations and the termination of a number of contracts?

COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGNS

Please detail what the $363,000 was spent on in relation to PRW?

Please detail why $14,000 was spent on five miniature gnomes?

How much was spent on PRW bottled water in the past financial year?

How much did you spend on producing, bottling labelling storing and later trashing thousands of dollars of Bundamba (PRW promotional) Bottled Water?

How many bottles did you produce?

Why did you secretly pay someone to dump them as landfill - because of the government's dramatic backflip on PRW?

How much did you spend on market research and phone surveys on PRW attitudes in the days after the desalination announcement when government polling showed they were facing disaster if they pushed through with desalination?

How much did it cost to staff PRW stalls at events and how many bottles you hand out?

How much did the production of the PRW DVD cost and how many were actually distributed?

How much was spent on market research?

REFORMS

How much has it cost to separate distribution and retails functions from councils?

Have you been satisfied with the performance of Seqwater, the Water Grid Manager, WaterSecure and Linkwater given the multitude of problems with the Grid?

How many in these organisations are on $100,000 a year salary or above - I understand there is a substantial portion - particularly in the media areas and particularly in Water Secure.

Why is this necessary given all media has been centralised to the Grid Manager - you have dozens of media executives at each of the organisations with 'nothing to do'?

WATER PRICES

Why has the government instructed the QWC not to revise the bulk water price path drawn up in 2008 to 'pay for the $9 billion water grid' when the water grid is now a $6.9 billion grid?

Isn't this the QWC effectively ripping off the water retailers and their customers 20% because the bulk prices are still based on a $9 billion Grid - aren't we paying off a dam that's not going to be built?

Will you be refunding this overcharge to the retailers who have been paying these inflated bulk water prices since November's Traveston decision?

Are there or were there ever plans to abandon the 10-year price path? Isn't it right you were in discussions with Treasury to change the price back to five-years so you would be free to jack up the prices substantially much sooner?

PRW (Recycled Water)

How much has the Independent Expert Panel cost in the past year?

Why did the high-profile member Professor Ian Frazer resign from the Panel?

Is it because of a major falling out with the CEO John Bradley?

See - Courier Mail - Questions about water the Bligh Government feared would be asked at estimates hearings.

See also - Courier Mail - Secret dossier exposes water woes dogging Bligh Government.


The answers would be illuminating ...