Mokoan to close: Broken Valley gutted
Irrigators in the Broken Valley feel gutted following the Minister for Water’s announcement that the decommissioning of Lake Mokoan will proceed.
Local MP Bill Sykes said, “The Minister’s decision to fully decommission Lake Mokoan based on incorrect information fed to him by deceitful senior DSE bureaucrats has ripped the heart out of the local community who have waged a six year battle to retain Lake Mokoan in some form.
“What galls me is that the DSE have deceived the Minister, leading him to believe that they have had continuous consultation with irrigators in recent months and that irrigator’s input was sought by the independent experts appointed to assess the irrigator’s alternative proposal.
“Nothing could be further from the truth!
“As a result the Minister’s press release trots out ‘DSE facts’ which are totally incorrect.
“For example, when irrigators last spoke with DSE, DSE agreed that water savings for a ‘mini’ Lake Mokoan were very close to those achieved by total decommissioning ie 33,500 ML vs 34,000 ML.
“The Minister’s press release states 12,000 ML difference – all of this 12,000 ML is in fact water purchased from irrigators which is unrelated to savings from reduced evaporation and can be part of a range of proposals including the irrigator’s proposal.
“Similarly, claims that the cost of the irrigator’s proposal is $35 - $50 million more than total decommissioning disregards actual costs for a similar project at Barren Box Swamp, with DSE preferring to grossly inflate the costs of dam wall construction to $6 million/km vs actual costs of around $2 million/km.”
Dr Sykes continued, “This ill informed decision by the Minister is compounded by his failure to share any of the benefits of the water savings with local irrigators or compensate them for the loss of their future.
Dr Sykes concluded, “Regrettably the decision to proceed with decommissioning Lake Mokoan, based on fictitious figures, is not an isolated incident; the North-South pipeline project is proceeding exactly the same way.
“Clearly the Labor Government is planning to continue to rape and pillage country Victorians rather than implement alternative sound, locally based water savings projects to meet Melbourne’s burgeoning water needs.
“It’s not over yet.”
Local MP Bill Sykes said, “The Minister’s decision to fully decommission Lake Mokoan based on incorrect information fed to him by deceitful senior DSE bureaucrats has ripped the heart out of the local community who have waged a six year battle to retain Lake Mokoan in some form.
“What galls me is that the DSE have deceived the Minister, leading him to believe that they have had continuous consultation with irrigators in recent months and that irrigator’s input was sought by the independent experts appointed to assess the irrigator’s alternative proposal.
“Nothing could be further from the truth!
“As a result the Minister’s press release trots out ‘DSE facts’ which are totally incorrect.
“For example, when irrigators last spoke with DSE, DSE agreed that water savings for a ‘mini’ Lake Mokoan were very close to those achieved by total decommissioning ie 33,500 ML vs 34,000 ML.
“The Minister’s press release states 12,000 ML difference – all of this 12,000 ML is in fact water purchased from irrigators which is unrelated to savings from reduced evaporation and can be part of a range of proposals including the irrigator’s proposal.
“Similarly, claims that the cost of the irrigator’s proposal is $35 - $50 million more than total decommissioning disregards actual costs for a similar project at Barren Box Swamp, with DSE preferring to grossly inflate the costs of dam wall construction to $6 million/km vs actual costs of around $2 million/km.”
Dr Sykes continued, “This ill informed decision by the Minister is compounded by his failure to share any of the benefits of the water savings with local irrigators or compensate them for the loss of their future.
Dr Sykes concluded, “Regrettably the decision to proceed with decommissioning Lake Mokoan, based on fictitious figures, is not an isolated incident; the North-South pipeline project is proceeding exactly the same way.
“Clearly the Labor Government is planning to continue to rape and pillage country Victorians rather than implement alternative sound, locally based water savings projects to meet Melbourne’s burgeoning water needs.
“It’s not over yet.”
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posted by Greg Naylor at
9:00 PM
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