Premier Beattie flip flops on pipeline to Darling Downs ...

Comment in the Australian Financial Review on 3 March 2006 on the pipeline to the Darling Downs:

The Queensland government is fast-tracking its Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme [WCRWS], which will reclaim about 110 million litres of waste water and pipe it to industry west of Brisbane.

The Queensland government is under strong pressure from farmers to extend the pipeline to the Darling Downs, one of the nation's most prosperous agricultural regions, which is crying out for more water.

But Premier Beattie claims he doesn't have the funds. "This is on the scale of the Snowy River in a way," he said. "We're not opposed to the pipeline going to the Darling Downs, but we cannot do it without federal help. We need a joint partnership and there's a lot of politics in this stuff."

It wasn't that long ago that Minister Palaszczuk was saying that the pipeline wasn't viable. Now Premier Beattie is saying he'd do it if he had the money.

If it looks, smells and sounds like an election coming, it probably is ...