Premier Iemma refuses to tap into recycled water ..

Excerpt from SMH:

Iemma refuses to tap into recycled water

19 February 2007

NSW Premier Morris Iemma today stepped up his attack against the Opposition's water recycling plans even though opinion polls show a big majority of Sydneysiders are willing to drink water reclaimed from treated sewage.

Speaking on ABC Radio Mr Iemma said Labor's plan of reserving recycled water for industrial purposes only was the right way to go and he would not set up a water policy based on "the yo-yos of opinion polls".

Asked why it would be wrong for recycled water to be pumped into homes, Mr Iemma said: "I believe that we don't need to and there is a better way."

Under Labor's policy, recycling along with desalination and other solutions would be used to ensure water supplies.

Mr Iemma described Opposition Leader Peter Debnam's water policy as a "half-baked" and "risky" proposition.

An smh.com.au online poll over the weekend showed that, of 12,802 respondents, 72 per cent were in favour of Mr Debnam's policy compared with 28 per cent backing Mr Iemma's plan.

Mr Iemma also stood by the party's campaign slogan: "More to do but we're heading in the right direction".

See - Iemma knows the real polls.

What the article doesn't say (and what Premier Iemma knows) is that the SMH poll (with a surprisingly high number of respondents) was not restricted to NSW voters or even NSW residents. It was an online poll which are notorious for manipulation by one side or the other.