REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Thursday, June 10, 2004

THE price of Gold Coast water was about to rise – by 35 per cent.

Mayor Ron Clarke successfully convinced a majority of councillors to support a price rise from 70c per kilolitre to 95c.

The water price hike came as a report reveals more than $108,000 has been set aside to fund pay rises for councillors.

The salary jump was on top of CPI increases which had already been factored into the city’s finances.

Cr Clarke said the new water pricing regimen, to be made official when the budget was handed down on June 25 that year, would encourage water conservation and punish water wasters.

However councillors who oppose the price hike said it would hit families hard.

The mayor did not agree.

He argued that although the per kilolitre price had risen, the one-off access fee had been dropped by $45 to $129.

“This is a very, very important matter,” Cr Clarke said.

“This means those who save water actually come off better, but those who are prolific with water will be handicapped.”

Cr Dawn Crichlow said the only people who would benefit from the increase would be the city’s 95,000 residents who lived in units.