The Wonthaggi desalination plant will earn its operators a fortune, yet it's exempt from rates.
By Catherine Watson
A PUSH by Wellington Shire Council to secure payments from offshore wind developers has reopened an old wound much closer to home: why doesn’t the desalination plant pay rates?
At its latest meeting, Wellington councillors voted to seek the backing of the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) to lobby the State Government for a Payment in Lieu of Rates scheme for offshore wind electricity generation.
Such schemes already apply to onshore wind, solar and battery projects. Instead of conventional rates, generators make an annual payment per megawatt to their host council in recognition of the impact large-scale infrastructure has on local roads, services and communities.
A PUSH by Wellington Shire Council to secure payments from offshore wind developers has reopened an old wound much closer to home: why doesn’t the desalination plant pay rates?
At its latest meeting, Wellington councillors voted to seek the backing of the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) to lobby the State Government for a Payment in Lieu of Rates scheme for offshore wind electricity generation.
Such schemes already apply to onshore wind, solar and battery projects. Instead of conventional rates, generators make an annual payment per megawatt to their host council in recognition of the impact large-scale infrastructure has on local roads, services and communities.
Wellington argues offshore wind should be treated the same way.
For Bass Coast residents, it’s a familiar argument.
As Post columnist Mark Robertson wrote last month in Here we go again, every private business on private land pays rates except AquaSure, the private consortium that owns and operates the Wonthaggi desalination plant.
For Bass Coast residents, it’s a familiar argument.
As Post columnist Mark Robertson wrote last month in Here we go again, every private business on private land pays rates except AquaSure, the private consortium that owns and operates the Wonthaggi desalination plant.
"AquaSure negotiated a sweetheart deal with the Labor State Government. That deal is costing Bass Coast ratepayers over $10 million a year. $140 million so far and counting." |
Over the life of the contract, the consortium will be paid close to $25 billion by Victorian water users, including us, whether we use the water or not.
In an unpublished 2010 interview, former Bass Coast Shire CEO Alan Bawden said that when the Steve Bracks Labor Government first announced the project in 2007, the premier gave the council a commitment the plant would pay rates.
But when the contract was finalised, AquaSure had secured a clause allowing any government taxes and charges to be passed back to the State, which then argued it did not pay rates on its own infrastructure.
“Any other private business pays rates,” Mr Bawden said at the time. “It’s on private land, it’s privately owned, privately operated and they’re selling all their product to the state government. It passes all my tests to make it rateable.”
He described the council as having been “poorly dealt with” and warned the arrangement set a troubling precedent.
The council has long been reluctant to mount a legal challenge, citing the prohibitive cost of taking on the State and a well-resourced consortium, but perhaps it could add its case to Wellington Shire’s approach to the MAV.
Back in 2010, the Labor Government floated the idea of a contribution towards a cultural precinct in Wonthaggi as a sweetener for the community impacts of construction. It never eventuated.
The architects of the desal deal are long gone, but as council begins serious discussion about the future of the old Wonthaggi High School site, questions about how to fund major community infrastructure are back on the table.
Wellington Shire is arguing that large-scale energy projects should contribute directly to the communities that host them and bear the impacts.
If offshore wind can pay in lieu of rates, why not the desal?
In an unpublished 2010 interview, former Bass Coast Shire CEO Alan Bawden said that when the Steve Bracks Labor Government first announced the project in 2007, the premier gave the council a commitment the plant would pay rates.
But when the contract was finalised, AquaSure had secured a clause allowing any government taxes and charges to be passed back to the State, which then argued it did not pay rates on its own infrastructure.
“Any other private business pays rates,” Mr Bawden said at the time. “It’s on private land, it’s privately owned, privately operated and they’re selling all their product to the state government. It passes all my tests to make it rateable.”
He described the council as having been “poorly dealt with” and warned the arrangement set a troubling precedent.
The council has long been reluctant to mount a legal challenge, citing the prohibitive cost of taking on the State and a well-resourced consortium, but perhaps it could add its case to Wellington Shire’s approach to the MAV.
Back in 2010, the Labor Government floated the idea of a contribution towards a cultural precinct in Wonthaggi as a sweetener for the community impacts of construction. It never eventuated.
The architects of the desal deal are long gone, but as council begins serious discussion about the future of the old Wonthaggi High School site, questions about how to fund major community infrastructure are back on the table.
Wellington Shire is arguing that large-scale energy projects should contribute directly to the communities that host them and bear the impacts.
If offshore wind can pay in lieu of rates, why not the desal?