Sharman Stone MP

Dear Sir,

In a rare move this week, Melbourne Water has been forced to admit it had invaded the privacy of and collected personal information on, North South Pipeline activist and cattle farmer Jan Beer.

Melbourne Water is now required to publicly apologise on their website and print the apology in the Shepparton News and and Seymour press.

Having denied for years that they were stalking, filming, recording and continuously monitoring her movements, Jan Beer finally had justice prevail when the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) ruled that Melbourne Water had been completely out of order.  This behaviour had been allowed and defended by the Brumby Government of the day, which also did its best to denigrate the ordinary men and women protesting against the pipeline.

The closure of the Pipeline had been a victory for common sense and ordinary people defending the environment and their livelihoods, but it had left a terrible legacy.  Unfortunately the needs of the Pipeline drove the decision to “reconfigure” or try to collapse down some 60% of the irrigation channel network in order to save water; water that would be piped down to Melbourne to wash its cars and flush their toilets.

Instead of the Foodbowl Modernisation Project being based on careful community consultation and best practice, best value for money and our long term sustainable, viable future, the former ALP State Government rushed into a badly planned and appallingly executed activity that is still not strategic nor the best possible use of money.

Lets hope, that with a Coalition Government in place in Victoria, NVIRP realises it must do much, much better.  It no longer has to be driven by the requirement to spend the $1billion as fast as possible and to find the mythical “saving” of over 200 GLS per year to pipe to Melbourne.

Yours sincerely,

(Dr) Sharman Stone

Federal Member for Murray