By Kath Gannaway
WATER Minister Tim Holding last week laid the last pipe in the Sugarloaf Pipeline declaring the project the biggest water-saving project in Australia’s history.
Mr Holding donned a hard hat and climbed into one of two cranes to lower the missing link, the last of about 5500 pipe sections, on the Melba Highway at Dixons Creek.
He said the 70-kilometre pipeline was several months ahead of schedule and restated claims water would flow to Melbourne from the $750 million project as early as February next year.
“The Sugarloaf Pipeline is a vital part of the Brumby Labor Government’s Water Plan, without it Melbourne would be a real risk of running out of water.
“With Melbourne’s water storages currently at 27.9 per cent it is more important than ever that we continue with these major water projects,” he said.
“In 2010 Melbourne will receive 75 billion litres of water down the pipeline, every year after that savings from stage one of the irrigation upgrades will be shared equally between farmers, Melbourne and rivers. Savings from stage two will be split 50/50 between farmers and rivers.
“These water savings are being made right now in irrigation channels in northern Victoria and will be independently audited and verified.”
While Mr Holding said opposition to the pipeline was waning, Plug The Pipe spokesperson Jan Beer said the government’s promise of “new water” had turned into stealing water from stressed rivers and environmental reserves.
She challenged Mr Holding to explain why farmers who had no water were leaving the land and why hundreds of billions of litres of storm water was being allowed to flow into the sea.
Another spokesperson, Mike Dalmau, said Mr Holding was out of touch with his statements that opposition would disappear once the pipeline was operating.
Responding to Mr Holding’s claims that Eildon would have more, rather than less, water in it because of the food bowl modernisation and pipeline project, Mr Dalmau challenged Mr Holding and the government to produce audited figures backing their claims.
“Give us independently audited figures that the water is there, because we know it is not,” he said.
Minister missing
IN A UNEXPECTED turn of events on Monday, Mr Holding was reported lost on Mt Feathertop.
Mr Holding, who is also Minister for Tourism, is known to be an experienced bushwalker. Concerns were raised when he didn’t return home on Sunday afternoon. As at 4pm on Monday as the Mail went to press, he had not been located.
As poor visibility and freezing conditions hampered the search, there were growing concerns for his safety.
Mt Feathertop, near Mt Hotham, is the second highest mountain in Victoria.
