The people of Melbourne must now call a halt to the farce of piping water out of the stressed Goulburn River, a Murray River tributary; such an act will permanently drought northern Victoria, which is now in its seventh year of drought.

The farmers of northern Victoria supply fresh food to urban consumers. They can't do so without water, and the Goulburn River environment is hugely stressed and dying.

When will Mr Brumby acknowledge the North-South Pipeline is his greatest folly and put it out of commission before he does even more community, food security and environmental damage?

Kevin and June Reid

Kialla

Pumping water will do no favours for anyone

The Victorian Government has spent thousands of dollars trying to convince the people that the North- South Pipeline was a win-win-win project.

According to Mr Holding, the first winners were the irrigators. Billions of litres of new water would be available to assist them produce food for the rapidly growing population.

The second group of winners was to be the environment. Additional water would be available to augment the declining resources available to rivers and wetlands in the lower Murray-Darling Basin.

The third lucky group, according to the propaganda, is the residents of Melbourne. They would have the security of knowing they had sufficient water in storage to provide their needs until the desalination plant comes into operation.

Everyone's a winner, we have been told repeatedly.

"This is a great project for all Victorians," are the words often quoted by the Premier.

With the water minister this week confirming that the pipe will be pumping water in the near future, all Victorians need to compare the reality to the spin.

Irrigators still only have access to just a fraction of their annual allocations and, despite concerns raised by the farmers about the reality of this new water, so confident was the minister of the savings that he assured them he would produce audited evidence in August of each year.

It is now January and we still are waiting.

Savings were never going to be generated in time for the storages supplying Melbourne to be augmented prior to this year's election, so a deal was done to ensure that 75 Gl could be borrowed in the first year.

The water that Mr Holding is so keen to pump over the divide is water that is sitting in Lake Eildon that had previously been reserved for the environment, to protect the health and well-being of rivers and wetlands and to assist with the management of algal blooms that are more likely to occur with lower river flows during the summer months.

The environment will also lose with the thousands of tonnes of CO

²

that will be emitted while generating the power to pump the water south.

Finally, customers of Melbourne water are to be shackled with the burden of paying the huge additional costs of pumping water they don't actually need into their storages so the minister can say he has delivered a project on time.

No water system operates at 100 per cent efficiency, whether it be agricultural or urban. If the minister is truly interested in protecting and conserving Melbourne's water supplies, he should leave the 75 Gl sitting in Eildon until it is needed.

Neil Pankhurst

Tongala

Conflicting reasons given for suspension

The heading on Stephen Mills' letter "Compelled to act" (Country News, January 4, 2010) speaks volumes.

In an article in the Weekly Times (December 16, 2009), Mr Mills said "the Pyramid-Boort WSC was dysfunctional" and "it was unable to give G-MW effective advice".

In his open letter (December 16, 2009), Mr Mills said: "G-MW has no intention of publicly disclosing any specific examples of conduct or behaviours."

Mr Mills' letter in Country News (January 4, 2010) states "the G-MW board felt compelled to suspend the committee because of behaviours and actions of members of the PyramidBoort WSC, not their opinions or advice".

He concludes: "G-MW looks forward to the resumption of a wellfunctioning committee in 2010."

The members of the Pyramid-Boort WSC are realising, through the confidential information given to them by G-MW, that the modernisation of irrigation infrastructure and removing water from the district is not in the best interest of irrigators.

Their actions in these criticisms make them dysfunctional, as the committee is not supporting G-MW.

The Minister for Water has stopped all criticism of modernisation by government departments and authorities, and has compelled Mr Mills to take the same action with WSCs.

Because the committee is now questioning actions of G-MW over modernisation issues, especially proposed price increases, it has become dysfunctional and as a result suspended.

Mr Mills' statements that the committee was unable to give G-MW effective advice and, later, that they were not suspended because of their opinions or advice, seem conflicting reasons to suspend them.

To clarify this issue Mr Mills, what is the prime reason why you suspended the Pyramid-Boort WSC?

I feel that it is Mr Mills who should be suspended because he has abused his privilege and powers under the Water Act in following the minister's bidding.

Bruce M Bassed

Colbinabbin

Irrigators' group has a lot to answer for

Gary Duke's letter in Country News (January 4, 2010) does not address the issues raised by Neil Pankhurst in his letter of the previous week.

Instead, Mr Duke has set out to denigrate Mr Pankhurst.

Mr Pankhurst is one irrigator who is prepared to stand up and point out the deficiencies evolving in the government's modernisation of the foodbowl, and the high cost which will be carried by all irrigators.

This will be exacerbated by the reduction in water availability.

Mr Duke's letter really highlights the actions of the NVI in backing the Brumby Government destruction of the Goulburn Valley foodbowl.

Under the Brumby Government, backed 100 per cent by the NVI, the Goulburn Valley foodbowl will be destroyed.

In the future, water will be required via the Brumby pipeline grid to service the ever-increasing urban population.

Gary Duke and the NVI have caused enormous damage by backing Brumby in the first place with a rigged vote at a public meeting in Shepparton.

They should have backed the majority of irrigators who were dead against it.

Brumby said he would not proceed without irrigators' support, he would have to get his water from the south.

NVI stands condemned.

Alison L Bassed

Colbinabbin