Ms Sheenagh Rooney:

The options that we put forward in our submission were asked for within the context of the recommendations that came from the expert commission report. That was on excessive charging above an allowance. It was within that context that we suggested that to address the equity issue one might have an opt-in scheme with a tax rebate. It is not something that we were aware of or had seen in any other jurisdiction. It was merely put forward as a suggestion to address what may be there as an equity issue that would need to be resolved over time. Similarly, where money may be available for people for a water conservation grant associated with metering, people can install a mechanism and then see the impact that has on water savings. They were merely options to assist the committee to address the equity issue, not necessarily ones that we had come across in other jurisdictions.