THE nerve of some irrigators and political leaders in arguing that the North South Pipeline should not go ahead because of the declining health of one of Victoria’s most important rivers, is astounding.
The Goulburn River has never had a deliverable environmental allocation, and has been wrecked over decades by irrigators receiving too much water.
The North South Pipeline will not only give the river an extra 75 gigalitres of water for environmental flows, but share another 150 gigalitres between Melbourne and irrigators.
This water is presently lost from evaporation, seepage and a generally outdated system.
The Goulburn River needs much, much more water than this to secure its health, but this is a step in the right direction.
The next step requires governments to buy back water allocations immediately.
Blaming an environmentally beneficial project for a decline in river health - when over-use of water by industry is the cause - is despicable.
NICK ROBERTS, Shepparton