WATER — LICENCE FEES
900. Hon JIM CHOWN to the minister representing the Minister
for Water:
I refer to the announcement that the McGowan government
proposes to raise fees for water licences, in which the Department of Water and
Environment states, as quoted in The West Australian of 8 October 2018 —
''Government considers WA
taxpayers bearing almost the full cost of providing regulatory services
unsustainable,'' ...
(1) By how much does the government intend to increase the
cost of new and renewed water licences?
(2) If the
government intends to increase water licences, why is this increase being
imposed on agriculture and horticulture?
(3) What licensing and permit costs for water are currently
being borne by the taxpayer?
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN
replied:
I thank the member for the question. The following
information has been provided by the Minister for Water.
The government has not made an announcement that it proposes
to raise fees for water licences, which included the statement ''Government
considers WA taxpayers bearing almost the full cost of providing regulatory
services unsustainable'', as suggested in the preamble to the question.
(1) There are
currently no fees for assessing water licence and permit applications, with the
cost borne by the taxpayer. For mining and public water supply sectors only,
the cost of assessing a new licence application will range from $5 357 to $8 929
and the cost to assess an application to renew an existing water licence will
range from $4 001 to $6 668. Licences are generally issued for 10 years.
(2) No decision
has been made to introduce water licence and permit assessment fees to sectors
other than mining and public water suppliers. The Department of Water and
Environmental Regulation is undertaking consultation on fees for other water
use sectors.
(3) The cost
incurred by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation to assess
water licence and permit applications was $15 577 921 in 2015–16 and
$14 606 870 in 2016–17.