Impractical proposal, bloody stupid proposal, build a hydro power station on every available dam in Queensland to generate power, back that up with some R & D on solar, and a few good sized wind farms as they have done in Denmark, 20% of Denmark's power is wind driven turbines, and presto! no further need for pipelines.

I'm all worn out now, that was so difficult to think through.

Ian Mott thanks for an informative article. I was one of those city folk who thought bringing water from Cairns sounded reasonable given that it was done for LA. I tell you I get stressed just thinking what it would be like had I stayed on my farm which relied on bore water.

I heard someone on the train the other day say that they were going to install a tank because it would improve the selling price of their house. Makes you wonder what the world is coming to.

“Yet, Beattie is spending billions to ensure that most of the population growth, and the resulting economic benefits, remain in the SE corner.”

Really? So what am I seeing on my regular travels from Cairns to Townsville, Mackay, Airlie Beach, Capricorn Coast, Hervey Bay, etc? Seems to me like these places are rapidly growing. Seems as though decentralisation in Qld is alive and ‘well’.

If we have to suffer continuous rapid population growth with no end in sight, I wish it would stay in SEQ.

What economic benefits? Even Beatty has said that population pressure is a major part of the problem in the water issue, the health issue and others. Even he can see that the continuously increasing tax revenue and economic turnover generated by ever-more people is very highly compromised by the increasing pressure on basic resources and infrastructure.

Ian Mott fails to even consider the notion of reducing the rate of this ever-increasing demand in SEQ for water, let alone stabilising the demand by way of stabilising population growth. The cold hard fact is that for as long as we have continuous rapid population growth that goes unaddressed, everything else we do or talk about with this whole water issue is at best just skirting around the edges of the problem and at worst actually facilitating this expansion and thus progressively worsening the whole issue.

There is some growth in coastal areas Ludwig, but none of it on a scale like that seen in SEQ. And if you were truthfully representing what you saw on your many trips around the north you would mention the vast distances between urban clusters that is still the dominant feature.

And Ian did point out that water tanks could supply all of normal household use from an average rooftop. But Beattie is going for the big project (a pyramid next?) to be seen to be fixing the problem.

Ian is slightly out on his proportions of beneficiaries in that the $2.2 Billion in borrowings is for 2 million Greater Brisbane water users (not redlands or Gold Coast). So half the state get indulged while the other half get to wonder what happened to their $2.2 billion.

And 2 million people equals 770,000 households. It would actually cost less money to buy every single household a 13,500 litre tank at $2,050 each. That would only cost $1.58 billion if none of them already had a tank.

But even that is not the main point. Who the hell do these people think they are who think they have no obligation to help themselves before claiming someone else's water with this bull$hit line about the interests of the majority must prevail over those of the minority.

It is boorish ignorance in the extreme.

Cairns is already connected to Brisbane by water. It is called the Pacific Ocean.

Ludwig,
If you look out your window you will not see Nazi Germany, although we may be heading in that direction, we in Australia still retain freedom of movement, it is known as feredation, the constitution, etc. In other words, the Victorians and New South Welshmen, are free to go where they please, and it pleases them to come to Queensland. Of course there is a lag in federal accknowledgement where distribution of taxes are concerned, hence many of the Queensland Government's trouble.

We must not take the "stop them at the border" approach, we must deal with the reality of the situation, that is 1500 people per week moving to Queensland. If they choose to stay in the s-e corner, in large numbers, the situation needs to be catered for. Yes regional Queensland is just if not more stretched for infastructure, because of the same situation. The Whitlam government used to allocate funding directly to local councils to more effiecntly deal with situations such as these.

The States have had funding slashed by Howard, and are unable to cope whilst Howard has $10.8 billion in the bank, or did until last week. Queensland especially North Queensland is badly in need of public transport, a decent Bruce Highway section, and public health funding, a direct result of Howard/Abbott slashing $1 billion in 2004, and of course non action on medical school training places at universities. As a guide the Hawke government built the huge Burdekin dam in the north. How many huge dams has Howard built?