Malcolm Turnbull
Monday, 21 August 2006

Malcolm Turnbull, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with responsibility for national water policy, today urged the public to express its views on what role the private sector should play in the provision of water and wastewater services, with the release of an Australian Government discussion paper on the subject.

The paper titled “A discussion paper on the Role of the Private Sector in the Supply of Water and Wastewater services” calls for public submissions to deepen understanding of the private sector’s expanding role in water, and to inform future debate on its implications and opportunities.

Releasing the paper at the 11th Annual National Water Conference in Sydney Mr Turnbull said it was obvious the necessary investment in water infrastructure over the next few decades would be immense, running into tens of billions of dollars.

Mr Turnbull said there was a mountain of private finance both debt and equity available for infrastructure, yet to date that finance had largely been directed to toll roads while other vital infrastructure areas such as water had missed out.

“There is a growing demand for investment in water infrastructure yet the private sector’s role has so far been minimal,” Mr Turnbull said.

“Many of our cities and regional centres are facing the need to significantly improve the efficiency of their water infrastructure, including maintenance and upgrading of existing facilities, establishment of new water treatment plants, and efficiency measures to increase water savings and improve water management.”

“The private sector’s role in financing this could be considerable.”

The discussion paper provides an overview of how water and wastewater services are currently provided by private and public authorities in Australia, along with examples from overseas. It also provides a summary of issues that might arise from the greater involvement of the private sector in investing and managing these services.

The public are invited to respond and have their answers recorded to various questions throughout the paper, such as “how risks can best be allocated between public and private sector participants in providing water and wastewater services, and is this a significant barrier to private sector involvement in the water sector?”

Mr Turnbull said the pressures on Australia’s water supply were likely to increase into the future and asked Australians to seriously consider the issues raised in the discussion paper.

“We are currently experiencing a drought where water available for irrigation has been at record lows for over a decade and most cities also face major water shortages. Our climate appears to be becoming hotter and drier as well as more volatile. We need to act now to secure our water future.” he said.

The paper is open to the public from Monday 21 August 2006 until Tuesday 3 October 2006 and is available from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet website at www.dpmc.gov.au/water

Contact: Sarah Stock 0404 848 186

Opinion: Malcolm Turnbull