MINING royalties lining the pockets of state and federal government will be a thing of the past if help is not offered to solve the city’s water problem, mayor Tony McGrady has warned.
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Cr McGrady said Mount Isa would become too expensive to live in if government does not help solve the city’s water scarcity.
Cr McGrady has slammed both levels of government for not providing assistance to the city in the form of financial drought assistance to negate the burden on the city’s ratepayers, and providing a pitiful amount of funding through the Royalties for Regions scheme.
“I want to know when the state and federal leaders will recognise the plight of Mount Isa and the North West and evenly distribute funding from the coast to the outback,” he said.
“Or will they wait until water in Mount Isa becomes so scarce and expensive that residents cannot afford to live here – then where will the royalties come from?”
The council yesterday issued a statement to clear up “grossly inaccurate information” regarding the Mount Isa City Council water dividend and water rates began circulating this week on social media.
Cr McGrady said he felt it was necessary to clarify once again the water situation and true costs of the precious resource in the financial year 2014-15.
“I believe there are certain individuals deliberately trying to scare ratepayers into thinking that council are taking advantage of the water crisis, and I can assure every resident that this is not the case,” Cr McGrady said.
“In the year 2013-14, the council received a dividend payment of $3.7 million, however, after being informed by the Mount Isa Water Board that there would be little or no profits made this year, council is expecting no dividend for 2014-15.”
For the 2014-15 financial year, the price of water in Mount Isa will rise by $7.8 million, after charges for blue-green algae treatment and filtration passed on by the MIWB total $3.2 million, $1 million for pumping from Lake Julius, $2 million loss of historical water dividend as abolished by the state government, and the net effect of 2013-14 filtration costs of $1.6 million.
To absorb part of this cost, a temporary drought ultra filtration water charge of $440 a year per household will be levied.
Cr McGrady said these costs were all as a result of the drought, and the council had no choice but to pay the costs for the precious resource – however limited – and like any local council, had to pass a portion of these costs on to the consumer, the ratepayer.
