By ROB VALENTINE | Water and sewerage services to the Tasmanian community are a core function of local government and a responsibility councils take very seriously.
As chairman of the Southern Tasmanian Councils Authority (STCA), which represents the 12 councils in the South of the state, I welcome Treasurer Michael Aird’s comments in the Mercury of January 1 regarding the State Government’s review of the water and sewerage sector.
In particular, the assurances — that the review is not aimed at forced council amalgamations or privatisation of water or sewerage services, and that career and training opportunities in the sector will improve — are noted and welcomed.
Since announcement of the review in the Premier’s September 2006 State of the State address, a great deal of work has been going on behind the scenes, both by the State Government’s Ministerial Taskforce and Project Team and by local councils, individually and collectively.
However, until now there has been little information provided to inform the community of the review’s potentially huge implications.
