Toowoomba Water Futures - it's time to shoot the cattle ...

... Deputy Mayor Ramia says too bad because there's no free lunch with this Council.

Article in today's Chronicle on the dilemma facing farmers whose water supply will dry up under the Water Futures project.

The article states:

Toowoomba City Council deputy mayor and water portfolio chair Joe Ramia said he sympathised with men like Mr Kath who were having to watch their properties die, but said the preciousness of water necessitated change.

"I am the first to sympathise because the water (on Gowrie Creek) has been guaranteed for the past 50 to 60 years," Cr Ramia said. "But the world has changed and water is a valuable resource."

So tough luck - don't stand in the way of Mayor Thorley's project - is the message to the farmers.

But isn't one of the Federal government funding conditions for the Water Futures project: Appropriate Gowrie-Oakey Creek system regional plans need to be prepared or existing plans modified to take into account reasonable consideration of the impact of the project on the downstream water users on Gowrie-Oakey Creek.

That seems somewhat different to Deputy Mayor Ramia's "take a hike" approach.

For the full article see - I may as well shoot all our cattle.

The article also states:

Cr Ramia said Gowrie Creek irrigators had been living off free Toowoomba water, but it was water the city could no longer afford to give away when it was also having to supply the Millmerran power station, Acland Coal as well as Hampton irrigators.

So Toowoomba City Council can no longer afford to give away water.

Is this not the basis of the Water Futures project - it's a money making exercise.

It is interesting that Deputy Mayor Ramia thinks it is necessary to supply water to Millmerran Power Station. Sources indicate that Millmerran is not currently using the recycled water from Toowoomba. It is relying on bore water.

And the need to supply water to Acland Coal is based on the premise that the Water Futures project proceeds and Acland Coal agrees to take the RO Waste stream. Toowoomba City Council currently has NO agreement with Acland Coal to supply the RO waste stream to it.

And aren't the Hampton irrigators willing to swap water for recycled sewage?

So the Deputy Mayor is making a lot of assumptions when telling the farmers to "take a hike".

Expect those farmers living within the Toowoomba city limits (and all their relatives and friends in Toowoomba) to vote No on 29 July.

You can't take such an obviously arrogant approach to this issue with complete disregard to one of the Federal government's stated funding conditions and expect people to happily vote Yes.

Unless perhaps you're living in "Thorley world" ...