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Water torture: A bigger debacle every day

It seems each day reveals yet another debacle in the management of Australia's water infrastructure.

Today's gems include further evidence that the Federal Government's $10 billion plan for the Murray Darling was put together hurredly on the back of an envelope.

But the states aren't much better, collectively pilfering almost $1B from their water utilities to spend in other areas, rather than re-investing it into the universally recognised problem of ageing and inadequate water infrastructure.

Together the two incidents paint an irony of political game-playing over performance.

On one hand the Federal Coalition Government wants to over-compensate for the shortfall in water investment by the states, but has failed to do the homework to justify its power grab.

On the other hand, the Labor states are resisting the temptation of washing their hands of the water problem, despite themselves having failed in water management.

What is the public left to think when deciding how to vote later this year?

Posted By: Michael Thomson on 18/05/2007 2:35:43 PM | Comments (15)

Comments

Date: Newest first | Oldest first

If you put an ex-MacBanker in charge of our water, you can expect it will be sold to BIG corporations, like the tollways.

They'll then sell it back to farmers, miners, industry, householders, etc at a BIG profit, so give control to the Feds at your peril.

Next, we'll have to buy the air we need to breathe!!!

Posted by Sceptical on 19/05/2007 5:43:43 AM

Droughts will not break until the rivers recover and we have flows in the catchments to make it happen.

Posted by dusty on 19/05/2007 7:16:57 AM

The water debate is now just a political football and will be lost in time like most other essential reforms.

Posted by dusty on 19/05/2007 7:28:02 AM

Now don't take me wrong, I'm not denying that there is a drought for there clearly is a drought on.

I am flat against our immigration intake when there is not enough water for us as it is.

After all, you don't have a party of 400 people over when you can only feed 40 people. It just does not make sense.

Not to forget the amount of environmental damage created by over developing the land for housing.

Over land clearing equals loss of all life which affects us all in one way or another.

Time to wake up and halt immigration before it kills us.

Posted by AussieNationalist on 20/05/2007 3:18:41 AM

John Howard is using the drought as an opportunity to centralise more power, in this case water, in Canberra - like tax and industrial relations.

Just another nail in the coffin of Federation.

There is every likelihood under Liberals of this public good - water - being privitised and then sold to the highest bidder.

A direct result of this is that agriculture cannot sustain the charges that major cities can be coaxed into paying.

With Mr Howard facing defeat at the election it would be foolish to provide a setup which would help the greenies get their hands on water management.

Posted by Pat Healy on 21/05/2007 8:22:10 PM

Higher temperatures, increased evaporation and reduced rainfall have lead to significant reductions in streamflow in Southern Australia.

With up to a 1/3 of a rivers flow subterranean we need to leave sufficient flow after irrigation commitment to support the resident flora and fauna for future generations.

Where to from here? A thinktank of great minds, strategic direction at a nationwide

level void of vested interest, minimising ones own ecological footprint, changes in land use and diminished export.

In the words of Spike, "Tricky".

Posted by Critic without solution on 21/05/2007 9:30:45 PM

The PM's Water Security Plan is hollow one.

It appears designed to hit the headlines with no little consideration (and no detail) of how it will be implmented.

Where are the people with the skills and knowledge to deliver?

Canberra's bureaucracies (NWC & Depart Environment & Water Resources) are struggling to get staff with any knowledge of water.

Out in the catchments current projects are also struggling to get staff.

Water management needs innovative and creative options - skilled and creative people must be at the core.

The PMs vision, a 10-year "vision", has no plans for lifting the skills and knowledge of people to deliver.

Posted by Its the people stupid on 21/05/2007 9:36:21 PM

I bought a property in 1997 with a creek running through it.

The creek dried up about five years ago and hasn't run since.

Bores at neighbouring properties alongside the creek are now drying up, having been a good source of water for more than 50 years.

In the meantime, cotton irrigators on the plains continue to pump water from the ground by the megalitre.

State governments pander to these multi-nationals; lets face it, if the Federal Government can't do something sensible with $10bn, then we don't deserve this great country of ours.

Stop arguing and get on with it.

Posted by Maules Creek, NSW on 22/05/2007 5:32:09 AM

Whenever the Good Lord giveth, the government taketh away!

Watch out for metering of water from our own farm dams.

Posted by God bless Australia on 25/05/2007 11:53:55 PM

Michael Thomson got it right - it is not a water debate, it is a water debacle.

Everyone except Malcolm Turnbull knows what the problem is, and its solution.

The problem is over-allocation of water to irrigation, and the solution is to reduce the allocation.

You can do some of it by making the irrigators more efficient.

But then you have to return all the savings to the rivers.

And you have to buy back licences, and do it now!

Posted by Barney Stevens on 28/05/2007 6:53:11 PM

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Michael Thomson is the Editor of FarmOnline. He has previously worked as the Canberra Parliamentary Press Gallery correspondent for the Rural Press group of agricultural newspapers, and as a senior reporter with Queensland Country Life.