By now ratepayers would have all received your 'Smarter Choices Save Cash' brochure from the Mount Isa City Council explaining the new water system.

Prior to July 2018, ratepayers received an allocation of water paid in your rates bill of 900 kilolitres at $1648 for the year.

You also received 50 "free" kilolitres which was for looking after your front footpath.

This meant you used to pay about 0.54c per kL whether you used your allocation or not (900 kL divided by $1648).

Excess water charges were calculated at $2.67 a kL if you went over your 950 kL.

Today you pay an upfront access fee of $581.40 per half year, which is included in each rates bill or $1163 per year.

This access fee is included in your rates bill, so it will then increase yearly with your rate increases e.g it's gone up 3% from last year.

You are then also sent a separate bill for water, which is charged at $0.87c a kL on your usage and $3 per kL after 1000 kL.

The council also claim most households are only using about 490 kL, so if we calculate that figure by $0.87 cents, we get charged approx. $426 in usage, plus the $1163 access fee, which means you are now paying around $1589.00, a saving of just under $59.

However, you have lost 460 kL at a price of $0.57 per kL.

At the front of the 'Smarter Choices Save Cash' brochure, MICC have pointed out how much $5 of water is the equivalent of and examples.

What's disappointing is they didn't use the access charge in their calculations.

Instead opting for 'Cost is for consumption only and excludes access charge' in very small writing at the bottom of the page.

In other words, residents are paying $3.24 per kL for water or $5 gets you around 1543 litres of water if you include your access fee and use around 490 kL a year like the council is suggesting.

If you are using around the old allocation of 950 kL you are now paying $2.12 kL which is four times more than what you paid prior to July 2018.

The Mount Isa City Council also have the power to increase the price per kL each year if they so choose on top of the rates increase.

If the Mount Isa Community Team are all elected, we intend to give residents a choice on how they pay for water, an allocation or a two-part tariff.

Affordability is our priority for Mount Isa.

Bernard Gillic

Mount Isa community team

Queenslanders have always been willing to roll up their sleeves, grab a shovel and wheelbarrow, and help with the cleaning after cyclones, floods and bushfires.

The latest challenge this summer also requires us to step in to help where we can - although it might not necessarily mean hard labour, quite the opposite actually.

The coronavirus is not only a health challenge but has also turned into a financial challenge for this state, and particularly for tourism operators in the north.

The travel bans from China, which are a sensible move to help stop the spread of the disease, have also stopped the significant finances that usually come into the regions in the pockets of tourists from Asia.

Big drops in visitor numbers are noticeable throughout the whole state.

I'm asking Queenslanders thinking of taking a holiday to consider holidaying in your own backyard - particularly regional and North Queensland.

The north has its obvious beautiful beaches, wonderful resorts and homestays, plenty of activities, and prices on Queensland seafood are very reasonable.

Speak to your travel agent and secure a great deal and let's keep Queensland's tourism industry alive.

For those on a tighter budget, why not visit family or friends, and enjoy a traditional "family stay over" in the spare bedroom or "airbed on the floor" holiday - they often create the best memories anyway!

Our northern businesses and residents have proved their resilience through cyclones and floods over the years, but the rest of us have also stepped in to lend support, and that need has emerged again.

One Nation leader and Queensland Senator, Pauline Hanson