WENDELL HUSSEY | Cadet | CONTACT
A Betoota Plains man has revealed to The Advocate a curious piece of correspondence he received this morning.
Sitting down to get through a bit of life admin before another day of working from home, Bradley Sample explained that his latest water bill actually came from the Chinese Government.
“At first, I thought it was a scam, cause it kind of looked the same as the normal ones I get but just had Chinese characters on a few things,” he said to our reporter over the PlayStation network during a Call Of Duty Warzone Match a short time ago.
“So, anyways I go and check the details and shit, and it turns out that the company who used to charge us for water and stuff, got bought by some Chinese company.”
Private foreign investors buying into Australian water are currently largely exempt from the restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 crisis.
“Went and did some looking, and there was nothing in the news about it really, but apparently the company is effectively just shadow directed by the Chinese Communist Party, so there ya go.”
Sample explained that he hasn’t paid the bill just yet, and wants to see what follow up he gets.
The letter comes following years of Chinese and American owned companies acquiring the rights to Australian water with little scrutiny from the Foreign Investment Review Board.
It’s estimated that China and the United States own roughly 1500 Megalitres between them, with an estimated 11% of the water in Australia currently foreign-owned.
“What can I do about it though,” sighed Sample.
“Foreign ownership is the thing of the 21st century here in this country. I expect politicians will do whatever they can to avoid the conversation aside from vaguely bringing it up every few months for a few cheap points.”
“It is what it is I guess.”
