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Brumby To Send Thomson Flows To Melbourne

The Nationals Member for Morwell Russell Northe has condemned a Brumby Government plan to use more of Gippsland’s environmental allocations to prop up Melbourne’s water supplies.

By Russell Northe - 17th July 2009 - Back to News

Mr Northe said the government yesterday released a discussion paper on the long overdue Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy.

"Page 23 of the paper shows the Brumby Government intends to divert the Thomson River’s environmental water entitlement to Melbourne," Mr Northe said.

"Labor has admitted it has qualified 10 billion litres of water destined for the Thomson River just so it can keep Melbourne off Stage 4 water restrictions.

"This decision will have an adverse effect on the health of the Thomson and the Latrobe rivers and the Gippsland Lakes."

Mr Northe said instead of raiding Gippsland’s environmental reserves, the Brumby Government should harvest some of the 500 billion litres of stormwater that runs off Melbourne streets into Port Phillip Bay each year.

"It’s ridiculous to take more water from Gippsland when Labor has done virtually nothing to capture the billions of litres of water that fall on Melbourne’s streets each year," Mr Northe said.

"The Brumby Government is planning to take water used to underwrite the health of our waterways, while pouring billions of litres of recycled water from the Eastern Treatment into the ocean at Gunnamatta. It just doesn’t make sense.

"Water from the Eastern Treatment Plant could be used either for environmental flows or sent to Melbourne for use on parks and gardens."

Mr Northe urged Latrobe Valley residents to respond to the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s (DSE) call for submissions on the discussion paper.

"Gippsland must make sure its opposition to Labor’s plans to use the region’s water is noted before the draft strategy is completed," Mr Northe said.

Submissions must be made by 5pm, Friday, September 18. Copies of the discussion paper can be downloaded from http://www.ourwater.vic.gov.au/programs/sws/gippsland/discussion-paper.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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