Community to Meet Over Water Charges

THE Upper Hunter Shire Council water charges have sparked community outrage and a community meeting is being held on Tuesday.

See how Upper Hunter Shire Council’s water rates compare to other Shires below.

Mary Jane Blake a concerned resident said the meeting came about when she started looking for answers for why residents were being asked to pay so much.

“I realised this has gone beyond local level and they are not telling us anything that is helpful,” said Ms Blake.

“I thought there is such an outcry I need to go to the next level and I’d met John Preston from the Fishers Shooters and Farmers before and wondered if he could shed some light on it and he has spoken to a lot of people in government about it, so said he was happy to explain what was happening,” she said.

“But it’s not just me who wants answers and I wanted to open up the discussion with the whole community, so I decided to have a meeting where anyone can come along.

“I think what is comes down to is Mayors have no intestinal fortitude to fight and get money from the state government and they are just throwing residents under the bus to keep paying more for everything,” Mary Jane Blake said.

John Preston, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers candidate for the Upper Hunter said water is an essential service and the ratepayers were shouldering too much of the cost.

“The average household uses 440 kilolitres a year, but obviously during extreme conditions like we have been experiencing people’s usage has spiked, but what it has also revealed is that the Upper Hunter Shire Council has been asked to do too much with too little like everything else,” said Mr Preston.

“What we are talking about here is an essential service and if a local government is unable to provide water at market value price it shouldn’t be put onto the consumer to pay more it should go back to state government,” John Preston said.

The meeting will be held at 10am on Tuesday, March 13 at the Thoroughbred Hotel in Scone.

WATER RATES – MEASURING UP

Ratepayers in the Upper Hunter Shire Council are being asked to pay considerably more than other Shires:

• Upper Hunter Shire Council – $2.13 first 75 kilolitres and $3.30 thereafter.
• Gunnedah Shire Council – $1.17 first 400 kilolitres and $1.76 thereafter.
• Muswellbrook Shire Council – $1.77 first 350 kilolitres and $2.65 thereafter.
• Tamworth Shire Council – $1.50 first 400 kilolitres, $2.25 400-800 kilolitres and $3.38 greater than 800 kilolitres.
• Singleton Shire Council – $1.60 first 450 kilolitres and $2.73 thereafter.
• Liverpool Plains Shire Council – $1.61 first 300 kilolitres and $2.13 thereafter.
• Sydney City Council –  Pyrmont – $2.04 per kilolitre flat charge.