Water policy
David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:28): (729) My question is for the Minister for Water. Minister, the recent annual reports of Greater Western Water, Yarra Valley Water and South East Water indicate that over $173 million in dividends was paid to the Victorian government, along with over $5 million in COVID payments. Further, Dr Erin O’Donnell, a senior lecturer in water policy at the University of Melbourne, has argued that if water authorities have cash to spare for the government, then customers could reasonably ask if they are paying too much. I therefore ask, Minister: don’t metro water customers deserve to have their water bills cut by $173 million?
Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Housing, Minister for Water, Minister for Equality) (12:29): Mr Davis, as I recall, we have been over this territory a couple of times in relation to dividends and capital repatriation, and I note that you have referred to specific figures on dividends, but the themes remain exactly the same. I am very happy – and I suspect that we will have an opportunity – to go through the details on all of the annual reports that you have referred to in your question as far as material and non-material entities go. But, Mr Davis, I want to correct a couple of the presuppositions in your question. Victorians, for avoidance of any doubt, continue to have some of the lowest water bills anywhere in Australia. In fact no –
Georgie Crozier interjected.
Harriet SHING: Well, Ms Crozier, let us actually tell consumers: no other capital city has lower water bills than Melbourne – no other capital city. And we know that it is also about the investment in infrastructure. When you go about questions like this that are reckless in their ignorance of the facts, we know that it is customers who come away from the claims that you make thinking that in fact their water bills are not the lowest of any capital city in Australia.
To be very, very clear, we make significant investments through the way in which the capital repatriation and dividend system is worked to make sure that when we work within the Essential Services Commission work in setting prices and the allocations for investment, we will see, as we have seen in the 2023–24 year, more than $8 billion in capital expenditure across the 16 water corporations in the period between now and 2028. Just last year, Mr Davis, the water sector spent about $2.5 billion on infrastructure, with about $3.2 billion planned for the 2024–25 period. This is investment that is about making sure – and I know that other members in this chamber, including from your side, are keen to see this happen – that we see the investment that means that as the population grows, as our ageing infrastructure needs to be replaced, as we need to make sure we are investing in the sorts of investments for infrastructure that will safeguard us against the very issues that this Parliament has looked into and that the federal Parliament has looked into around natural disaster, coastal erosion, the impacts of climate change and the impacts of population growth, we have these investments that are being made as part of the ordinary work of government – (Time expired)
David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:32): It should be noted that the minister actually did not answer the question about whether metro customers deserve to have their bills cut by $173 million. Comments about a range of other matters do not deal with that central issue. I therefore ask: Minister, metro water prices are determined by the Water Industry Regulatory Order, which you have the power to amend under the Water Industry Act 1994. I ask, Minister: why have you not amended the Water Industry Regulatory Order so that households are not paying hundreds of dollars more each year in water costs because of your government’s raids on water corporations’ budgets?
Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Housing, Minister for Water, Minister for Equality) (12:33): Mr Davis, again I am going to take you very clearly to the way in which pricing is set by the independent Essential Services Commission and by the work that we do with the commission, with water corporations – those material and non-material entities. We have the lowest water bills of any capital city in Australia right here in Melbourne. When you talk about the metropolitan water corporations and you make the sorts of spurious claims that you have, you are inviting a conclusion in fact –
David Davis: On a point of order, President, there was no spurious claim made. The figures are straight out of the annual reports.
The PRESIDENT: The minister is being relevant to the question.
Harriet SHING: Mr Davis, when you include in your supplementary questions words like ‘raids’, it is really important that we actually correct those assertions in terms of the way in which the Essential Services Commission sets prices. To be really clear: it is only water corporations with those bigger profits, so our metropolitan water corporations, that pay dividends, and they only pay them if they have a healthy surplus. Mr Davis, this is a return on the government’s equity, and it does not result in increases to customers’ water bills.