IRRIGATOR ANGER TO BOIL OVER AT PUBLIC MEETINGS

QUEENSLAND irrigators could be facing substantial hikes in their water bills due to a current price review that is failing to find efficiencies in irrigation water service provision, the Queensland Farmers’ Federation said today.

The Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) is conducting a review into SunWater irrigation prices for five years from October 2011.

QFF CEO Dan Galligan said the review was delivering disappointment to the State’s irrigators, whom had been hoping that the QCA would highlight potential efficiencies in SunWater and help reign in rising water costs.

The issue will come to a head at public meetings over the next two weeks as irrigators across Queensland throw a barrage of questions at the QCA on why so little progress has been made.

“Irrigators have little faith in SunWater delivering water at an efficient cost,” Mr Galligan said. “The reality is that SunWater is a monopoly service provider, a government owned corporation, with layers of bureaucracy. Irrigators look at SunWater and they don’t see it as efficient or as having much impetus to improve efficiency.

“Any cost forecasts can’t be given a tick without a detail efficiency analysis – and we don’t have that.”

SunWater released its scheme plans outlining forecast costs in early January.

QFF has made it clear that the plans are inadequate to inform irrigators in each region about planned expenditure and estimated charges for the next five year period.

QFF along with industry groups CANEGROWERS and Cotton Australia has analysed the numbers to foreshadow the possible price hikes that irrigators could face if the QCA cannot inject efficiency into the process.

Some areas such as Maryborough would require an additional 200+ percent in five years’ time to cover the spiralling costs. While rises will be capped to maximum increases over the next five years, it is still expected that some growers will face significant increases of $20/ML or more.

“These are substantial increases that will seriously impact the viability of many Queensland irrigators.”

“We hope however that QCA can drill into the costs to provide an adequate basis for recommending an efficient price path for each scheme.”

Mr Galligan said that time was tight, with QCA due to deliver a draft report by mid-year and finalise its report to the State Government in August.

“We need the QCA to do a fair and comprehensive report in order for the Minister, Stephen Robertson, to make a reasonable pricing determination.

“We need to take a little more time to get it right and QFF will be taking this issue up with the Minister.”