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The Forum > Article Comments > The Myth of the Water Manager > Comments

The Myth of the Water Manager : Comments

By Brigid Walsh, published 16/4/2010

The Victorian Government, in its current term, has attempted to get runs on the board on water management in a time of drought and climate variability. What a pity neither Brumby nor Holding learned lessons from the past.

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How Brigid Walsh makes the link between too many water experts on the Victorian Water agencies Boards and (in her opinion) poor decisions by the Victorian government is a mystery. There is nothing linking the main premise with the conclusion.

An equally compelling case can be made that there are not enough water experts in the Victorian parliament. Water experts have been saying for centuries that conservation is better than expensive projects. Where has Brigid been?

John Brumby seems to be the one that is most blamed for the bad decisions but he was a teacher before being a union rep and MP. Maybe if he was an engineer, better decisions would have been made.

The more likely reason that the expensive pipeline and desalinisation plant were built was to keep control of water with the state government. If water is managed by the individual homeowner or landowner, there are less revenues for the government and less political power.

Side note: At least 2 typos in this article.
Posted by ericc, Friday, 16 April 2010 3:57:13 PM
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Why is there little recognition of the effect of wildfire upon streamflow in forests?
Melbourne Water's Mr Pat O'Shaugnessy writes about this in Forest Fire Victoria Inc's 'Facts Behind the Fires'. http://home.vicnet.net.au/~frstfire/docs/The_Facts_Behind_The_Fire.pdf At pages 24 to 30 are items of interest but his report is pp 100 to 102. If you are aware of your average rainfall you can work out how much streamflow you will loose when bushfires incinerate your forest.
His graph on page 102 shows that there is an increase in the first five years after fire but this is ash and sediment laden and clogs up streams, rivers and reservoirs.
The Green NGO's, promising preference votes, forced the ALP to stop cool burning in public forests in Victoria in 1981. The price of that stupidity is now being recognised. Yes, I was on the ALP's Policy Committee.
Planned burning saves native flora and fauna. It saves streamflow too.
Posted by phoenix94, Friday, 16 April 2010 4:57:34 PM
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Phoenix
You should have acknowledged the People who died did so for a handful of votes in 1981 , how disturbing that must be for you .
Posted by ShazBaz001, Saturday, 17 April 2010 3:26:48 PM
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Your article brings up an important issue valid for AGW and your subject : and that is the role of Professors , Scientists and other Academics in inventing .
For example was Bill Gates,James Watt or the inventor of Radar any of the above ? They were not , add Henry Ford , Phill Irving , Frank Whittle etc etc !

Not to suggest Uni Nut's are not useful , far from it , if by chance an inventor has cobbled something up and by trial and error he gets it buzzing like a bee's wing , then he has to explain with precision how it works , why it works ; now he needs a Conjurer a dude from the Uni called a Professor , a Scientist or a mystic called an Academic to boffin it up so the Inventor can get his Patent empowered .

If you want one of these Dudes they are the one's hiding in the Cloisters covered in Danish Band-Aids .
Posted by ShazBaz001, Saturday, 17 April 2010 5:19:41 PM
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While in furious agreement with some of what you say, particularly regarding the growing power of international private water companies in Victoria and the hide of the Brumby Government to be handing them police files on protesters, I feel you might be stretching your argument a little far.

One of the greatest environmental disasters for our environment perpetrated by previous administrations was the proliferation of on stream dams to secure supplies. Up till now the Brumby government, to its credit, has ruled them out. The opposition would bung one in tomorrow if it could.

Having the uncomfortable experience of standing next to a weeping farmer at a public consultation meeting last week for the Western Region Sustainable Water Strategy I am more than aware of the strong emotions this subject elicits at public forums. To do the politics for this is something I openly admit would be beyond me and I have to respect those whose job it is to engage the community.

I think the Sustainable Water Strategies initiated by Brack's and continued by Brumby are a good idea and sets Victoria above many of the other states in matters of process, but admittedly they could be done far better.

One of the best things Bracks ever did was to combine the Water and Environment ministries under the one minister Thwaites. It is a great shame that this did not continue under Brumby.

As to a voice of reason it is a great shame also that we lost Professor Peter Cullen.
Posted by csteele, Sunday, 18 April 2010 11:19:46 PM
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