On February 3, 200 people rallied against the Victorian Labor government's unsustainable water plans.
Premier John Brumby's government plans to solve Melbourne's water problems by building a desalination plant near Wonthaggi and a water pipeline from the Goulburn River to Melbourne.
Desalination is a very costly and energy-intensive solution to the water crisis. The estimated cost of the pipeline and desalination plant is around $5 billion. The desalination plant would also produce huge amounts of pollution that will harm nearby sea life. The plant would need 900 gigawatts of electricity a year, which would increase Victoria's electricity use by 2%, or enough to power 170,000 homes.
The desalination plant would be a public-private partnership funded by the government but run to produce profit for a privately owned corporation. Stephen Cannon from Watershed, an anti-desalination group, told the rally "water is the most precious resource and that if privatised, people will pay more".
The North-South pipeline is also no solution. The Goulburn River feeds into the Murray River, a river already damaged after years of unsustainable water usage. Taking more water from an already stressed water system was described by the scientist Tim Flannery last year as "bullshit".
Speakers listed the failures of privatisation in Victoria, the public transport and power industries. A representative from the Plug the Pipe campaign group pointed out that north-west Victoria is already experiencing power blackouts after privatisation, even before the energy intensive desalination plant is built.
Melbourne has been experiencing power and public transport chaos over summer, an inevitable result of chronic under-funding.
Speakers argued that Melbourne's water crisis could better be solved through water recycling and harvesting of rainwater. Every year, 150 gigalitres of water is pumped into the ocean at Gunnamatta, the same amount that the desalination plant is designed to produce. In addition, water recycling and stormwater harvesting could save more water elsewhere.
Speakers also pointed to the lack of community consultation by the government and demanded greater democracy and respect. The protest ended with those assembled holding the soles of their shoes up to the premier to the chant of "reduce, re-use, recycle — give Brumby the arse!"