Mr BAYLEY - To continue this theme around the Macquarie Point waste water treatment facility. What discussions have you had with the Tasmania Government in relation to the need and urgency for this, the relationship with the stadium proposal and the timelines that the Government has locked itself into in relation to the construction and operation of a stadium at Macquarie Point?
Mr THEO - We've had no conversation in relation to the time to do with the stadium, or for that matter anything else that might go on that particular location. We're not privy to any discussions with respect to what the state may or may not do, other than what we read through the newspapers and other forums. Our commitment has always been, from a few years ago, to turn of the plant to relocate it by the end of 2025. That is what we aim to do. As I said, that might happen in 2026, given that we are still in a process of finalising costs. The expectations are, that if all goes well, we'll have people on site beginning that work. Tony, will it be sometime next year?
Mr WILLMOTT - Yes, next year.
Mr BAYLEY - What about the land? Does TasWater need to retain ownership of the land and the infrastructure that's presumably underground there, over the long term? Is that the case?
Mr THEO - One of the pieces of work we've had to do this year is to understand exactly the footprint that the stadium will have, and make sure that any transfers or reallocation of land reflect who owns what, as part of the development process.
Mr BAYLEY - Have you been in discussions with Government about the transfer of land that's currently the treatment plant site?
Mr THEO - We want to make sure that the infrastructure we build doesn't inadvertently find its way into, for example, TasPorts.
Mr WILLMOT - There is a parcel of land that the treatment plant sits on now. That gets carved up between TasPorts, MPDC and we keep a small section for the pump station. We build the pump station when the titles are split. We're not privy to what happens to the site after we've finished.
Mr BAYLEY - Have you had price conversations about that? How much do those different entities, whether it be the Macquarie Point Development Corporation or TasPorts, pay for that or do you gift the land? Are there conversations going on already about that?
Mr WILLMOT - Yes. As part of the agreement with that whole site, we move out of that area. We hand the land over. That's part of the agreed deed for the financing of the project.
Mr BAYLEY - One motivation for your upgrade, as I heard before, was non-compliance around environmental protection notices and discharge of, I think, chlorine and other pollutants into the Derwent. In the interim of doing this work, have you been issued any subsequent notices by the EPA about discharges? Do you have ongoing issues with that plant given the upgrade hasn't happened? How are you going to avoid that if you haven't taken interim steps to remedy that challenge?
Mr THEO - We're talking about the Macquarie Point treatment plant?
Mr BAYLEY - That's right.
Mr THEO - Matt can talk about some of the workings and so can Tony. We still have an obligation to ensure the treatment plant complies with its licence obligation. We'll continue to do whatever we need to do in the short-term to make sure the treatment plant does that. We continue to operate it. We continue to maintain it and we continue to make any short-term investment that might be required, knowing that the treatment plant will be turned off in the next few years. Matt, is there anything you can add to any work that we've done recently?
Mr DERBYSHIRE - Selfs Point?
Mr THEO - No, at Macquarie Point.
Mr DERBYSHIRE - We did replace the inlet pumps to keep the plant operational. Obviously, we have to manage the risk until the new plant is built at Selfs Point, or upgraded, and then we transfer flows to there.
Mr BAYLEY - Have you had any other notices from the EPA about discharge? Have you got an ongoing issue there in relation to discharge?
Mr DERBYSHIRE - No.
Mr THEO - Tony, anything else you'd like to add?
Mr WILLMOTT - No, I'd just reiterate what Matt said. We have had to do a number of smaller upgrades to the plant to keep it going, including those pumps. We've done the main bearings on the filters.
Mr GUMLEY - To be clear, it is a very old plant and we're keeping it going but you wouldn't want to do that for 20 years.
Mr BAYLEY - No, we appreciate that.
Mr GUMLEY - It has to be replaced.
Mr BAYLEY - I guess the basis of my questioning was around some of those discharges and the breaches that have happened in the past and given there is additional delay to the full relocation, I'm hearing you've taken interim steps to remedy that problem and you haven't received any subsequent notices from the EPA.
Mr WILLMOTT - Not to my knowledge. I wouldn't say there's additional delay; we're still within our boundary of our agreement and the agreement is actually completely off the site by the end of 2026.
Mr THEO - I just want to elaborate on my comment earlier that while we're working really hard to have the [inaudible] plant turned off by the end of 2025, it might blow out into 2026, and I use that term loosely. It's a hot construction market and we're out there competing for resources with everyone across the country, so we are mindful that despite best efforts and best endeavours, depending on what comes back in terms of the capacity and availability of companies to be able to do the work in the time frame we have, it could be jeopardised. I wanted to signal that, but our intention is to work really hard to have it turned off by the end of 2025.
Mr BAYLEY - Even at the ratio for TasWater investing four out of the 14 units in the relocation, if the $140 million blows out quite significantly, you're confident that you've got the budget and the resources to accommodate that?
Mr THEO - Yes. Our CFO keeps reminding us about the amount of money we're investing in capital water and sewerage infrastructure. We are planning to be able to meet our financial commitments to that project. We plan for not only the next five years but we also take a long-term view on capital investment over the next 20 years and beyond. We are planning to definitely be in a position to meet our contributions not only to the work that needs to be done at Macquarie Point but also to our 170 other treatment plants around the state that we have over the next few years.
