NSW election turns into recycled water referendum ...

In the aftermath of the 2006 Toowoomba referendum on recycled water, politicians from all sides declared that a scare campaign had been conducted by No campaigners (conveniently omitting the scare tactics used by Mayor Thorley and the Yes campaign team - 'there are no other options, the water will run out by Christmas, the gas water will kill you, etc.').

One wonders what they think of Premier Iemma's comments:

Excerpt from SMH:

The Coalition has declared the state election will be a referendum on the future of Sydney's water supply - and Labor has shot back by saying a Coalition government would put the city's drinking water at risk.

Within hours of Peter Debnam announcing his $955 million plan to recycle effluent yesterday, Labor revealed it would launch an advertisement next week saying the Liberal leader "will force us to drink recycled sewage".
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At his launch Mr Debnam had predicted a "vicious scare campaign" from Labor over the five-week campaign for the election on March 24.
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Standing in front of the primary treatment tanks full of brown untreated sewage at the Penrith works, [Iemma] said he would not force people to drink effluent.
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"Mr Debnam wants to force the residents of western Sydney to drink sewage," Mr Iemma said.
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Labor's advertisement, to run on morning television from Tuesday to Friday, accuses Mr Debnam of a "flip-flop". It says: "Mr Debnam can't make up his mind on water. Now he's against desalination again. His alternative is to do nothing until dams reach 20 per cent. But then he'll force us to drink recycled sewage."


And then there are Opposition Leader Debnam's comments (right out of the Thorley play book - 'it's done all over the world, etc'):

Mr Debnam said recycled water did not taste different.

"I mean, you've all drunk recycled water around the world," he said. "I've drunk recycled water. Nobody notices any difference. It is purified water. It's pure water."

Now it's pure water. Better get some advice on that point, Mr Debnam.

He is correct on one point though:

"Morris Iemma needs to understand that the scare campaign is not only against Peter Debnam and the Coalition, it's against one of his colleagues, Peter Beattie." Mr Beattie, Queensland's Premier, plans to recycle effluent.

See - SMH - the politics of recycled water.

So you have one State Labor Premier (Beattie) saying recycled water is nice and safe and another (Iemma) saying there is no way he would force people in Sydney to drink it.

Easy to spot which Premier has an election in a little over a month.

But don't the polls say that 70-80% of the community want to drink recycled water. What's Premier Iemma worried about ...