The very first thing that the 'lazy' and 'complacent' Australian politicians need to do is rip back all water supplies from private hands. It is absurd that such a scarce and essential commodity should have ever been treated as a way for private enterprise to make a profit while it is rationed to primary producers who represent one of the few industries left to us by rampant globalisation.

Waffling about 'harvesting' water is a waste of time while we have politicians too gutless to stand up to Greens, a ratbag minority that does not have to take responsibility for the continuing downward slide of this country.

With all the blather and no action, there is little chance that anyone alive today will see change.

This article was, I believe, written by an ideologue driven by a clearly annunciated ideological imperative? And predicated on desalination that uses dated reverse osmosis and price gouged antiquated coal-fired power!?

When instead it could and should be deionisation dialysis desalination which delivers four times the volume of water for the same energy input and as 95% potable water.

And field trialled some years ago in Texas, as cost-effective irrigation! Albeit, to give the Author his due, cotton could also be grown with nutrient-rich, recycled affluent And most tree crops!

Moreover, if the energy source were MSR thorium that energy could be 8 times cheaper than current delivery!

And the cost-cutting possibilities don't end there, given were we intelligently led we would by now be accepting other nations nuclear waste for storage here! And for the annual billions, we'd earn for providing such service.

Albeit, only burying he stuff after we'd extracted the remaining available95- 98% unspent energy from this energy-dense material by burning it and burning it again and again in MSR's and as we did so reduce the half-life from thousands of years to just 300!

And then use this, virtually free to us, energy, from MSR's, other folk funds have paid for. To power, the new space age desal plants, we could and would build, but for the rubbish of activists, with the ear of government?

Furthermore, the final waste product from this process is eminently suitable as long life space batteries that then burn up with reentry!

The abundantly obvious alternative as advocated? Is the status quo and the unprecedented bush fires continuing as far ahead as we can foresee!

Clearly, the Author is conflicted by a not too well-disguised, vested interest that would be harmed with cheap desalinated water? And fights with misinformation and dated info no longer applicable!
Alan B.

Hi Alan B.

Like simply pushing Thorium as THE energy answer your suggestion of "deionisation dialysis desalination" also lacks a proven producer-consumer economic record.

"deionisation dialysis desalination" more often termed Capacitive dionization (CD) "is still under development. Knowledge about treatment efficiencies of larger-scale installations, economics, and short- and long-term fouling/scaling issues of CD systems has not been established." see http://www.researchgate.net/post/Does_anyone_know_of_Capacitive_Deionization_in_water_treatment

To partly agree with Alan B nuclear powered desalination on the coastline could kill two birds with one stone... increase water supply and generate low carbon electricity. The technology could be a hybrid of reverse osmosis using electricity and flash distillation using waste heat. The public would have to accept the plants within say 50km of the city coastline.

The other thing is perhaps that Australia already has enough people. Our economic gurus tell us indefinite population growth is the answer to what ails us. It's now looking like the cause. Some of the problems can be mitigated but we need to be hard headed, not belief driven.

Meanwhile the very important topic of a water supply crisis needs to be considered in both and Australia wide and global context too.
See for instance the essay by David Shearman featured on the Pearls & Irritations website: it is titled Doctors urged to engage water policy concerns and a timely review.
Plus in the case of the USA an essay on Counterpunch by Andreea Sterea titled Looming US Water Crisis.
And of course most countries and regions face a similar crisis.

Just remember what some sleazy crooked politician has given to one of his mates can be easily re-taken. Find the corruption, dissolve the deal, jail the pollie and the CEO and seize the asset back.
The IBAC in Victoria is showing how easy it is to discover corruption!