The Victorian Parliament has rejected a second water order that would have allowed the Brumby Government to break key promises to communities and the environment.
The Victorian Liberal Nationals Coalition late last night moved a further motion in State Parliament’s Upper House to disallow parts of the Brumby Government’s second order which outlined water sharing arrangements for savings made through the Food Bowl Modernisation Project. Shadow Minister for Country Water Resources and Deputy Leader of The Nationals Peter Walsh said the Brumby Government had failed to uphold its end of the bargain. "John Brumby is treating food producers, regional communities and the environment with contempt," Mr Walsh said. "The Brumby Government is already looting 20 billion litres of environmental water from the Goulburn River system. "This water order would have put in place the legal mechanism for the government to take water from northern Victoria without fulfilling the commitments it gave food producers and the environment." Mr Walsh said under the Brumby Government’s original plan, all savings from Stage 2 of the Food Bowl Modernisation Project were supposed to be shared equally between food producers and the environment. "According to Labor’s water order, savings will be shared
‘based on future negotiations with the Commonwealth’," Mr Walsh said.
"The government wants a legal loophole out of the few commitments it gave food producers and the environment in return for raiding northern Victoria’s water." Mr Walsh said it was a well-documented fact that Melbourne was not in immediate need of water from the pipeline. "Labor’s arrogant approach to the north-south pipeline shows just how out of touch John Brumby has become with Victorians," Mr Walsh said. "We will not stand by while the Brumby Government gazettes an order that enables it to break more commitments to those who are already suffering from a lack of water."
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