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WATER
STRATEGIC
PROTECTION FOR AUSTRALIA'S FUTURE
OPEN LETTER
PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA
Friday 7 January 2011
The Prime Minister
Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Proposed National Water Grid - An Environmentally Sustainable Solution
Dear Ms Gillard
You may have noticed in your local newspaper, on TV news bulletins or perhaps a local radio station, the flood-water disasters currently occurring in dozens of regional and rural cities and towns across the State of Queensland?
Over one (1) million square kilometres, an area covering more than the entire land-mass of NSW, have been, and most still are, submerged under up to 14 metres of flood-water, which will still take several months to either dissipate or flow into Australia's eastern and southern oceans.
As the senior elected representative of Australia, do you really care? Do you really
empathise with those people and their provincial towns, who, after enduring over eight (8) years of drought have now had two seasons of flood. Or, is it simply a question of being seen to do the politically correct thing?
Remember the old adage that goes '... prevention is better than cure'? If you are sincere, then out of all this hardship must be the ultimate prevention
solution. Certainly the immediate task is to clean up the mess, but you must remember this 'mess' is a recurring event and has to be recognised as such.
I could go into the details of the $BILLIONS$ (that's thousands of millions) of taxpayer-dollars that MUST be expended to repair or replace roads; bridges; and rail infrastructure, in addition to restoring potable water supplies; sewerage; energy; communication; schools and heaps of other public facilities... but I won't, as you should be aware of all that!
I could go into the details of the loss of life and other personal tragedies, the devastation of homes, family businesses and, tens of thousands of individual lifetimes of blood, sweat and tears that were destroyed by successive State & Federal Governments who refused to listen to warnings over the past 20/30 years of impending droughts, water intrusion (floods) and the need for massive water infrastructures urgently needed... but I won't, as again, you should be aware of all that!
So, on behalf of the population of Queensland, and all
Australians who consume the primary producer products' of Queensland's agricultural and meat industries, you are hereby asked again to L-I-S-T-E-N, inwardly digest and commence the construction to implement the long term solution, namely a
'National Water
Grid'
(Revised Bradfield Scheme) as a matter of URGENT National Security!
Without a National Water Grid, which will drought and flood proof Australia's eastern states, history has, and will again, repeat itself! This will be verified by residents of Emerald (2008) Rockhampton (1991) Theodore, Condamine, St George (March) 2010 and surrounding regions who have just finished rebuilding their lives after so-called
'one in a hundred years' floods of earlier last year!
The 'National Water Grid' proposes the harvesting and diversion of excess annual floodwaters from Northern Australia (Queensland), onto the inland plains of Central Queensland and south into the Murray-Darling delta.
You may recall the recent outcry from primary producers (irrigators) in southern States relating to the enormous water shortage problem with the Murray Darling Basin, which has only ever been looked at as a "Murray Darling Matter" and never seriously within a wider resolution context.
In Queensland, a National Water Grid alone has the potential to create over 90,000 permanent jobs, stimulate local shire economies, and give a massive boost to small, medium, and large businesses. It would further give some comfort to those regional people who live constantly with the fear of both drought and flood and who need not live with these constant threats.
You may say, great project, but look at the cost. In fact, over the past 20 years, losses in Queensland's rural economy of up to
(some years in excess of) $1,250 million dollars per year have been recorded as a direct result of massive shortages of life-giving water during harsh drought periods.
Conversely, the massive flooding of Queensland's interior and coastal regions is also causing
$BILLIONS$ of dollars of unimaginable damage to primary and secondary producers, homes and businesses plus numerous taxpayer-owned infrastructures' and facilities... immediately following years of extended drought.
A National Water Grid is potentially on such a scale that it will eclipse the achievements of the Snowy Mountain Scheme, create a clean energy source by way of hydro-electric power harnessed by the rivers' system, apply conservation and utilisation of water resources by irrigation of drought affected and water starved areas of Queensland.
By diverting excess annual floodwaters of Northern Australia into the 'scheme', the hardships and burdens placed on 'the man on the land' in terms of stock and crop losses, will be dramatically reduced.
A National Water Grid will feed into the Lake Eyre Basin, which covers an area of more than a million square kilometres and is made up of large parts of Queensland, Northern Territory and South Australia, along with a small slice of western New South Wales. The major cross-border water flows are from Queensland into South Australia, however substantial flows do occur out of the Northern Territory into both Queensland and South Australia, including the Murray Darling River system.
It will assist in the reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and facilitate a totally renewable, and fully sustainable, hydroelectric energy system in Queensland, as well as be of enormous benefit to the whole of Australia… particularly to Australia's rural economy.
AND please, do not insult the intelligence of the Australian people by citing 'cost of project' as a negative or valid excuse against this project of National importance! As the full costs of the current (December/January 2010/11) floods may take several years to calculate, it is not unreasonable to rationalise the costs of this current one (single) flood will be greater than the cost of the actual implementation of a National Water Grid.
Current estimates are in the $BILLIONS$ of taxpayer-dollars allocated to a National Broadband Network (NBN), $37 $BILLION$ in infrastructure costs PLUS a further $13 $BILLION$ payment to Telstra, giving an estimated TOTAL in excess of FIFTY THOUSAND MILLION ($50,000,000,000), which must be immediately rolled-back in light of the ongoing flooding catastrophe in Queensland.
The Federal Government must take full responsibility for the costs and implementation of a National Water Grid, which obviously warrants full bipartisan support from Australia's major political parties.
It would not be unreasonable for the Federal Government to fund 50% of a National Water Grid with the remaining 50% being equally divided between the four (4) State Governments (QLD; NSW; VIC; SA) who will be saved massive funding relief payments to State residents resulting from natural annual drought or flood environments.
The creation of a clean energy source by way of hydro-electric power harnessed by the National Water Grid rivers system MUST provide a taxpayer-owned asset
(Bradfield Energy) that the Federal Government can manage as an alternate power supplier to private and business consumers.
This entity (Bradfield Energy) would stimulate the existing 'energy market' as a means to reign in outrageous electricity increases by current electricity conglomerates, all of which were formerly taxpayer-owned assets but privatised by cash-crazed politicians of all persuasions.
Ms Gillard, may I be bold enough to ask YOU to contemplate one simple question:
'What do you believe is more important to your fellow Australians...'
a) The ability of having Australian produced fresh fruit and vegetables, milk, meats and assorted groceries, at reasonable prices, on the family dining table?
or
b) Be able to fast download head-banging-brain-destroying music, violent movies and pornography... across the length and
breadth of the Nation?
If you are unsure... why not ask them?
In conclusion, the Australian people are NOT interested in what your chosen political party's 'policy' is on 'water infrastructure', nor are they interested in what your personal opinion is, what they are interested in is that you L-I-S-T-E-N to your fellow Australians on what they believe is in the best interests of their communities with regards to water infrastructure!!
You may find that such genuine consultation may enhance the Government's unenviable poor image, something that spin-doctoring has failed to do for two plus decades, and, at the same time, leave our already depleted Nation to our children's grandchildren with at least some demonstrated vision for
Australia's Water Future.
Prime Minister, should you and your political colleagues choose to ignore this proposed solution to Australia's current water woes, you do so at the peril of the political party you represent!
