Qld: Recycled water project still alive say groups
By John Sheed
BRISBANE, April 2 AAP - Proposals to pipe Brisbane's waste water to dry inland farmswere still alive despite claims by Premier Peter Beattie that Prime Minister John Howardhad "pulled the plug" on the plan, water groups said today.
Darling Downs Vision 2000 and the Lockyer Valley-based City to Soil group proposedthe pipeline to take recycled water from Brisbane to irrigate farms west of Brisbane insteadof discharging it into Moreton Bay.
Mr Beattie said today Mr Howard had "pulled the plug" on the project by turning downa request he made for commonwealth funding.
He said he had received a letter from Mr Howard which stated the project was "outsidethe scope of commonwealth programs for this type of activity".
However Darling Downs Vision 2000 and City to Soil CEO John McVeigh said there appearedto be some confusion in the correspondence.
"It appears to us that the correspondence between the premier and the prime ministerhas happened in isolation from what's really happening in the project itself," Mr McVeighsaid.
"The prime minister's letter to the premier is in response to a letter that the premierwrote in October last year and in that six months there has been a hell of a lot happenin relation to this project."
Mr McVeigh said the two groups attended detailed briefings in Canberra two weeks agowith various cabinet ministers who all expressed continuing strong support for the projectin principle.
"They, like the rest of us, including the state government and Brisbane City Councilare awaiting the outcome of the final feasibility studies before any of us can judge thefuture of the protect," Mr McVeigh said.
He said he had spoken today to Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane who was pushing tohave a federal committee help fast-track the project prior to the release of the feasibilitystudy in the middle of this year, and had been assured he remained committed.
"Everything is still on track," Mr McVeigh said.
"We've been advised very clearly that the Prime Minister has not pulled the plug on the project."
Mr McVeigh said a detailed presentation on the proposals would be made to the primeminister once the study was completed.
AAP jfs/sc/jmd/bwl
KEYWORD: WATER NIGHTLEAD
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