Ten years ago pretty much no one in the community had heard of PPP's or Public Private Partnerships, and even if they had heard of them they were explained as making the cost of providing services cheaper.
That being said, how many of you have already received your new water bill?
Exactly, and how many reckon that the bill seems very high, well I do so I asked some questions by email and it took over a week to get a reply.
I have to say I was mad as a meataxe when I found that after trying to call all day I couldn't get through to talk to someone and also that after a week it came as a surprise that they had actually replied.
The thing is that the water charge is a small part of the bill, there is an infrastructure charge, a service charge and some other fees (which I had assumed would have been well and truly paid for) as well as the charge for the water used.
Pay as you use is a simple concept, and no one minds paying their fair share, but in my opinion when there is no choice, and in the case of water supply there is no choice then the charges are in effect holding us to ransom for water, there is no avoiding the charge even if you do not use any water, and they can charge whatever they like, and they now claim to be a private company and beyond question on it and state that you just need to pay up by the due date, you have no choice, and yes you can be sold up for eventual and continual non payment.
The thing is that Our State Government has discovered a money pit, and to make the whole process unquestionable they have created a PPP to protect their money grabbing and keep prying eyes out of the real details of how it works even with FOI's.
Think of how many homes are connected to water, and how much the minimum charge is and do the sums, that is a ship load of money.
One of the questions I asked was; " can I sell my rainwater back to you?" and "can I sell my rainwater to my neighbours cheaper than you charge for it" the answer to both was a predictable no because there is no choice and no choice allowed.
I also asked "how can I get in on the action?" answer: you can't, . . I mean seriously I'd love to buy in I reckon at the charges they are billing us it might be the only way I can afford to ever drink, shower, launder or cook any more, plus it will be hugely profitable, a licence to print money.
I'm really dirty on the charges, I think they are too much and I wonder about renters who live in houses owned by landlords and how they will pay, because if a landlord has half a dozen homes and the bill comes in at $200 at each residence that's a bill he probably can't absorb and will have to raise the rent to pay for, (almost $20 a week)
There are already rumblings from workers in Urban Utilities and Unity water about how they have been dumped by councils whom many have worked for over a long period of time, and expected to continue on without the usual council support behind them, e.g. the bitumen patch up crew, concrete cutters and excavation crews, not to mention planning departments to let them know exactly where services are located etc.
This is just a ripoff, and another State Government charge set to punish working families in our part of the world, and slug them with another bill they don't need or want.
Meanwhile as we pay for Bligh and Fraser's arrogant display against a citizen who subsequently brought the matter to court, they punish us with another greedy cash grab out of our wallets and purses.
7 comments:
The people are already showing their dis-satisfaction with Labor. Now might be the time for us to take a stand and let Ms Bligh and local gov know how we feel about the continual money grab.
Some of us have not received our bills yet but if they are so high we need to get an action group together and do something.
The thing that intrigues me is that we will still be sending the payment to Council - why?
Is Allconnex covered by the Local Gov Act? I wasn't aware that the State had an Act which allows the sale of one's home for arrears of payment.
The only bit of truth that has come out is that the present Gov - at all levels, is wasting our money and then coming back for a second bite at the apple. Enough already!
The thing that bothers me is that this not only appears to be a money grab but that we again are being made to paid for a CEO and numerous staff wages. Then of course there's the administration fees and the stupid advertising with stupid fridge magnets.
As for 'service charges' - what services? Once the pipes are laid what do they do?
In the 20 odd years that I have lived here I have never seen any work or maintenance done on the water lines.
How legal is it to charge people for a service that they have not signed up for? The water lines are not on private property but belong to council or State.
What happened to the concept that the resources belong to the Australian people - is it a case of the resources belong to just a select few?
I would imagine that if one were to get a lobby group, say a ratepayers association, together and challenge the right of a now private company entity to charge for infrastructure that was there before they existed and paid for by developers who had it installed before land was sold to the owners that infrastructure services, the State government would show it's true colours and financially back that company entity so that a group of citizens could not afford to fight.
There is no doubt the new water bills will be a rip off, I have not received mine yet but I have received my rates without water on it and it's also gone up, by quite a bit.
If the average household has to pay between $500 and $1000 a year for water then they have absolutely no right to ever again ask or enforce water restrictions, that option has gone out the window. Also if , as I believe to be the case, you are going to pay a portion in advance and they do cut back or restrict the service e.g. water restrictions, and you've already paid, there would be a case of fraud or theft of moneys paid when service was not delivered.
This is no more a cash cow than any of the other schemes where PPP's exist to keep information secret from the public on matters where government does not want to explain or as our rights exist under FOI, find out.
Bad government is a direct result of the Two Party system we suffer under, where elected representatives serve the Party first and the people last.
I am blown away by the fact that the old BSC area is being charged $480.00 access fee, Logan $240.00 and Beenleigh $216.00. Even Ipswich is not paying that, they are paying $192.00. How can Allconnex justify doubling the charge in old BSC area?
What is going on? Are we expected to fund the new developments in Yarrabilba, Flagstone and where ever else?
Something has to be done - my god what are these people up to?
Just received an email showing a comparison of water charges - it states that the old BSC area is in fact to be charged $408.00 and that Ipswich is $342.00. The Gold Coast is the area being charged $192.00.
It appears that the old BSC area is possibly the highest rate in SEQ. One has to wonder why?
In the 20 + years we have lived in this area, no new pipes have been laid and no maintenance done. So what are we paying for?
Logan has to take responsibilty for their part in this as they put the charges up to $340 while in charge of the water. Even though we knew we were being charged more, we did not realise how much more than the rest of Logan.
No wonder we don't want to be a part of Logan - they obviously have done nothing to welcome our area.
Are we being out-rated so that we will sell up and leave so that they can turn this area into sardine city?
I just received an e-mail from Allconnex. I hope others can make sense of it because I certainly can't. Hopefully everyone in the BSC area will ask for an explanation.
"The base charge is higher in the former Beaudesert (BSC) area due to the fact that the infrastructure per capita required is greater in this area than that of the other two areas. Essentially the number of customers serviced by the infrastructure and therefore sharing that cost is greatly reduced due to the size of the properties in the former BSC area. This results in a higher base charge.
Residents in the former Beaudesert Shire Council area are referred to as Transferred Area A or Logan South just as a means of differentiating between the three areas whilst there is a need for us to do so due to differing charging structures.
Please note that you will be charged for your Allconnex account on a quaterly basis.
If you require any assistance or have any further enquiries regarding this matter please contact Allconnex Water on 1300 000 928, choose option 2 for Logan district then option 3 to speak with a customer service representative."
It is more of the Bureacratic Bullshit that we are fed daily and continue to put up with it. Truck chatges, Pet charges , water chatges , Rates increased and Council pay rises. It will not end until we the people are preapared to kick the Career politicians ?councillors out of office. Have we got the courage , Hmm I do not think so as we are quite prepared to keep accepting their poorly justified crap.
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