Water, Water, Everywhere

They have released the umpire's decision on where water prices will go for the next four years, and guess what? It's not down.

In fact, depending on where you live, your water bill will rise by up to 60% above current rates by 2013.

We cover the official announcement by Dr Ron Ben-David, chairman of the Essential Services Commission, in the city. He is a smallish, neat man, who begins confidently in front of a phalanx of cameras, and a press conference packed more, I suspect, with ESC staff and PR minders than media representatives. He stumbles a few times whilst reading his statement but regathers himself and backtracks to start his sentence again, cleanly. Neatly. He has been media-trained.

The statement is too long for its intended purpose, and drags, but the pace returns when he takes questions from the floor. Like most, he is more animated speaking on his special subject when unconstrained by a script. He manages to avoid bagging the government and the water companies, despite our best entreaties.

We shoot a standup, using as a backdrop one of the city's few fountains not yet switched off.
Vox pop reaction from punters is mixed. Some admit this will help them curb their water use - a positive. Another is so anti-government that I have to ask three questions before he manages to edit the profanity out of his answer. A bit too much value from him.

Impact on families? Whip out to Hawthorn to grab a Salvos spokesman at his house between meetings. He is lavishly unshaven.

Back to Parliament for a doorstop with Louise Asher, my local member. I last interviewed her when she was Tourism Minister in the Kennett government. I don't have time right now to reacquaint her with what I've been up to this last decade. An old pro, she scores some points at the government's expense.

Back to the newsroom, write it, stitch it up, and off home on time for once. This gig is easier than I'd imagined it would be. It was today, anyway.