管理失当，水费将面临调涨

州政府进期宣布，维州会很快要开始向当初工党建设的海水淡化厂购水，而这额外添加的购水费将转嫁到人民的水费帐单中。

 

这些购买的水来自工党 2009 年宣布在 Wonthaggi 建设的海水淡化厂，此厂建好后一直被閒置至今。虽然尚未使用，但维州人民每年要支付给閒置淡化厂高达 6亿澳币的维护费。 种种因素下，工党政府决定正式启用，而代价是在每年 6亿的维护费上再额外支出2700 万的购水费。

 

墨尔本水库至今的蓄水量仍有三分之二之多，限水令也尚未出台，也因此造成多数民众对於为何需花钱启用一个不需要且閒置多年的淡化水厂而深感疑惑。

 

有鑑於种种原因，许多民众质疑认为，维州工党政府在不需要时卻又刻意购买淡化水，一再举动彷彿都想洗清当初工党政府花巨资打造一个维州不需要的淡化水厂之污名。

 

若单为了给政府洗清当年乱花钱和管理失当的质疑，进而调涨人民水费，把错误的代价转嫁给人民去承担，如此做法是极其不公平。　面对各界质疑声浪，政府必需对此做出合理的解释。

 

英文版/English version

Government buys desalination plant water

 

The State government has recently announced it will soon start buying desalinated water to add to Melbourne’s water supplies, and consumers’ water bills will be increased to pay for it.

 

The water will come from the desalination plant that the previous Labor government decided in 2009 to have built at Wonthaggi. The plant has not yet been used.

 

Buying the desalinated water will cost an extra $27 million a year, on top of the more than $600 million that water consumers are already required to pay for the plant every year, whether or not it is used.

 

However, Melbourne’s water storages are still two-thirds full, and no water restrictions have been introduced.

 

For this reason, many people believe the State Labor government has rushed to order the desalination plant water when it’s not needed, to try to justify the huge cost incurred by the previous Labor government to build the desalination plant.