HOWARD’S TRICKY ATTACK ON FUNDING FOR URBAN WATER IN QUEENSLAND BLOWS UP IN HIS FACE

The Prime Minister John Howard got it wrong again in Townsville this morning when he accused the Queensland Government of taking too much money from the State’s urban water authorities.

Water Minister Craig Wallace said local councils, not the State Government, controlled urban water authorities in Queensland.

“John Howard tried to be tricky and attack the Queensland Government over water while he was visiting Townsville,” Mr Wallace said.

“Unfortunately Mr Howard does not understand that the State Government does not control urban water in Queensland, local councils do,” he said.

“He only ever seems to notice Queensland four months before any election.

“Queenslanders will not be impressed that John Howard was more interested in scoring political points than checking what happens in our State.”

Mr Howard was trying to jump on a page 1 story in The Australian newspaper today which said State governments were stripping profits from urban water authorities.

He said on 4TO in Townsville that he blamed the States for using urban water authorities as cash cows.

John Howard said: “That is an outrage, this is a scandal, this country is dying of thirst and these water utilities – instead of investing new revenue in infrastructure, in new pipes, in fixing the leaking ones – they’re paying by way of a tax to their state governments.”

According to the report by the National Water Commission in The Australian newspaper today, in 2005-06 Brisbane urban water authorities paid the lowest dividends to shareholders in Australia after Canberra.

Mr Wallace said the Beattie Government had ordered a review of the management of water by local water authorities in Queensland and the review would like at infrastructure investment.

The review will examine whether the State Government should take over water infrastructure from local government.

The Beattie Government is spending an unprecedented amount on water infrastructure.

More than $9 billion is being spent on South East Queensland’s Water Grid – not far short of the $10 billion pledged by the Howard Government for the entire Murray-Darling Basin.

Media inquiries: Paul Childs, Craig Wallace’s office, on 0407 131 654.