Money flows for bosses

TasWater executive salaries jump 16% in a year

TASWATER executive salaries rose by 16 per cent in a year, while chief executive Mike Brewster enjoyed almost an 8 per cent increase in his pay.

And TasWater spent $25.1 million less on capital expenditure than it did the year before despite the state’s crumbling sewerage infrastructure — but it said this was part of its threeyear price and service plan.

The TasWater annual report for 2016-17 reveals that the overall cost of TasWater’s executive staff rose by $384,293 to $2.78 million — up from $2.39 million in 2015-16.

Mr Brewster’s base salary received close to an 8 per cent increase from $425,070 in 2015-16 to $458,043 for the last financial year. His total remuneration figure is $498,264.

The pay rises come as TasWater staff launched industrial action — that is ongoing — against the water and sewerage utility calling for a pay increase linked to cost of living, guaranteed remuneration for additional hours worked and a new performance pay system.

Director of the Tasmanian branch of Professionals Aus- tralia Luke Crowley said salary increases flew in the face of TasWater’s argument that pay rises for staff must be in line with community expectations.

“It clearly shows that the company’s concern for ‘community expectations’ is swiftly dropped when they are determining their own remuneration,” he said.

Mr Crowley said the reduction in capital expenditure was alarming, especially with Tasmania desperately needing infrastructure improvements.

But a TasWater spokesman said the company was on track to spend $330 million on capital expenditure from 2015-16 to 2017-18 under its price and service plan (PSP), ticked off by the Economic Regulator.

“While the spending may vary in each 12-month period, TasWater will exceed its full three-year capital investment program by the end of the cur- rent PSP period,” he said.

“The variation in annual expenditure can be due to the final cost of a project, construction periods extending into the next year or in fact underspends resulting from efficiencies.”

The spokesman said TasWater’s executive pay contracts needed to achieve a balance between risk, incentive and reward and were benchmarked to local and Australian remuneration levels.