{"id":248839,"date":"2019-11-21T16:30:14","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T06:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=248839"},"modified":"2020-07-14T12:09:10","modified_gmt":"2020-07-14T02:09:10","slug":"swickers-water-subsidy-extended","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/11\/21\/swickers-water-subsidy-extended\/","title":{"rendered":"Swickers Water Subsidy Extended"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
South Burnett Regional Council will continue supplying water to Swickers at a discounted rate to help keep the plant running through the current drought<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

November 21, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Burnett ratepayers will continue to subsidise Swickers’ water supply by $150,000 a year after Councillors voted to extend a discount on water supply charges to June 2020.<\/p>\n

At Wednesday’s meeting, Councillors were told Swickers had requested they be charged a Tier 1 rate ($1.67 per kilolitre) for all their Kingaroy plant’s water consumption.<\/p>\n

Officers said Swickers would normally be charged $1.67 per kl for their first 20,000 kilolitres, then $2.24 per kl after this.<\/p>\n

Council’s current Budget had been formulated on Swickers’ historical water consumption figures, so the discount Councillors were being asked to approve would have a $153,460 impact on the Budget’s bottom line.<\/p>\n

Cr Ros Heit said she was concerned about the effect the discount would have on the rest of the community<\/strong><\/p>\n

While she was in favour of granting Swickers’ request because they were a large employer, she was also mindful doing it would cost Council a six-figure sum.<\/p>\n

“It’s something we need to keep an eye on,” Cr Heit said.<\/p>\n

Mayor Keith Campbell said the Swickers factory was facing issues with water because of the drought, and had been doing so for the past few years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This situation was unlikely to improve until the region received good rainfall, which would help replenish the company’s internal water resources.<\/p>\n

“The overriding factor is that Swickers are the largest employer in the region and their contribution to the area’s economy is substantial,” Cr Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Councillors approved Swickers’ request unanimously.<\/p>\n

The situation will be reviewed in June 2020 to decide if the concession should be extended for a further year or come to an end.<\/p>\n

Related articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n