admin /17 January, 2007
John Howard declared in a recent radio interview: "It is to me absurd that you should have a surplus of water in northern NSW and a crisis in southeast Queensland," reported The Australian (23-24/12/2006, p.15).
NSW to protect own rivers: The plan has been dismissed by the NSW Iemma Government. NSW Water Utilities Minister David Campbell says the government will give priority to protecting the environmental health of NSW rivers.
NSW tells Turnbull to buy Cubbie: Campbell says if Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Water Malcolm Turnbull is genuinely concerned about water conservation, he should buy out Queensland’s Cubbie cotton station, which would release 500,000 megalitres into inland NSW rivers. "It would be prudent to consider the better utilisation of water at Cubbie before considering new transfers from NSW."
Qld Premier plays along: Queensland Premier Peter Beattie insists publicly that his government is co-operating with Canberra in examining Turnbull’s plan, but privately he is at one with Morris Iemma in giving it the thumbs-down.
Beattie has other plans: Beattie government sources say cost estimates suggest a pipeline from NSW will be much more expensive than various projects planned under Queensland’s multibillion-dollar water grid program.
Geography against border pipeline: This is due largely to the costs of getting water over the steep McPherson Range on the Queensland-NSW border. Queensland engineers believe the Coolangatta airport and heavily populated Gold Coast rule out a pipeline through the narrow strip of land separating the mountains and the coast.
Gold Coast pipeline possible: An additional barrier lies in building a pipeline over the McPherson Range because the mountains are largely protected as national park. However, some experts believe it would be feasible to connect a pipeline from NSW along the coast to the planned desalination plant at Tugun on the Gold Coast, a short distance across the border.
Turnbull eyes Beattie policy disarray: Turnbull is pushing his proposal in part because he believes Beattie’s water policies are in disarray.
Water splurged on city roadworks: As the level of Brisbane’s Wivenhoe Dam sits at a precarious 23 per cent, precious drinking water is squandered on cooling power stations and spraying city roadworks.
Traveston Dam bungles continue: Government notices sent to residents in the Traveston Dam catchment last week inadvertently carried Liberal leader Bruce Flegg’s telephone number. Landowners in the catchment have been infuriated by contradictory or incomprehensible advice about the dam plans.
NSW Nats dissent on Turnbull plans: Turnbull is used to locking horns with state Labor governments – he has been busy this week attacking the Bracks Government over water projects in Victoria – but he faces dissent within Coalition ranks over the northern rivers plan.
Qld could do more: NSW Nationals leader Andrew Stoner, fearing a voter backlash in the state election in March, says it is unacceptable to the NSW Coalition. "It is not as though we have an inexhaustible supply of water in the northern rivers," Stoner says. "Queensland could be doing more to solve its problems." NSW Opposition Leader Peter Debnam will not say if he agrees with Stoner.
No worries, Turnbull insists: "There should not be a problem in accessing what is a relatively small amount of water in NSW for southeast Queensland," Turnbull says.
