17 December 2010 CANEGROWERS welcomes government decisions on water pricing

After months of intense lobbying by CANEGROWERS and irrigators, the Queensland Government has made the sensible decision to withdraw from imposing huge and largely unjustified increases to rural irrigators’ water bills.

Earlier this year, the Queensland Government issued a directive to the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) to conduct an investigation into changes to SunWater’s irrigation water pricing arrangements. These proposed changes had the potential to increase irrigators’ water costs by up to 400%.

CANEGROWERS CEO Steve Greenwood says the government’s decision is a good one and hopes that this is a sign of things to come.

“The government’s proposed water pricing increases, such as the rate of return sought for dams built decades ago, would have left some farm businesses unprofitable,” said Mr Greenwood.

“We thank Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, Stephen Robertson, for responding to the concerns raised by CANEGROWERS, and we praise his resolution to withdraw from imposing these price hikes.”

After holding multiple meetings with CANEGROWERS and the Queensland Farmers’ Federation, Minister Robertson has announced that the government won't charge an additional rate of return on infrastructure ever in the future.

“On top of taking the seeking of a rate of return off the table, the government will not be charging for the planned spillway upgrades for one in 100,000 year rainfall events, which is a very sensible move,” Mr Greenwood said.

“We also welcome the decision to keep maximum increases to water pricing at the same level as previously tabled – which were $2 per ML plus CPI.

“CANEGROWERS has been continually lobbying for a fair go for irrigators for more than a decade now, and, together with the Queensland Farmers’ Federation, have fought hard for irrigators on these issues.

“Today, we congratulate the Queensland Government on taking this major step toward maintaining the sustainability and profitability of the state’s irrigators,” he said.

“Of course, there will still be some issues which will require further discussion with government but this is a very good start in ensuring the future for irrigators in Queensland and is a very welcome show of support for the industry.”


Media Comment:
Steve Greenwood, CANEGROWERS CEO, 0488 721 156.
Alf Cristaudo, CANEGROWERS Chairman, 0418 181 204.