Happy birthday

OUR beautiful, beloved pig, Pauline Mary, turned six years old the other day. She has had a couple of pieces of chocolate to celebrate. Pauline has given my husband and I six years of love, fun and pleasure. She adores our other pets, three cats and a dog. I encourage animal lovers to consider adopting a pig. They make wonderful pets. Our Pauline is an indoor/outdoor pig who

TasWater takeover

TREASURER Peter Gutwein says he is appalled at TasWater spending to obtain legal advice that casts doubt on the Government takeover of water and sewerage. It is appropriate for TasWater board to seek external advice. To do otherwise would be failing in their duties as directors. The cost of advice from senior legal counsel was $5000, a modest amount when it may protect a council asset valued at $3 billion from a hostile and what seems to be an illegal takeover. The Treasurer’s comment was designed to deflect from having to answer the question of what legal advice it has received. We now have the Premier saying the Government will not make its legal advice public. TasWater has put its advice into the public domain.

The question is simple. Can the Government legislate to override the application of the Federal Corporations Act? The advice TasWater received is that it cannot. The $5000 spent by TasWater on legal advice pales compared to the cost to taxpayer’s of the Treasurer’s proposal, $160 million to pay the councils, plus the unnecessary $600 million he wants to borrow to fund what could well be an illegal takeover. Tasmanians can judge for themselves which costs are appalling.