Snowy A National Asset, Not An Election Bribe
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday April 17, 2006
On Thursday, Snowy Mountains people and former Snowy scheme workers will meet the Cooma-Monaro, Snowy River and Tumbarumba shires to voice concern over the NSW Government's determination to flog off the key water asset, Snowy Hydro.
This premier, renewable-energy asset belongs to the people of Australia and it is not for the NSW Government to ram through a decision to sell it without full consultation with the public and the Parliament.But that is the tactic of a cash-strapped government, determined to maintain its credit rating before the election in March. Snowy Hydro is the commodity the NSW Government desperately wants to sell to keep its books in order to maintain government.No, Morris Iemma and John Della Bosca, you do not have the right to sell our property without consulting us and without our full permission. That means appropriate community engagement and full debate in Parliament, not secretive and backdoor decisions in cabinet that exclude your employers.Yes, Mr Iemma and Mr Della Bosca, we are your employers. Your jobs are on notice.Make no mistake, the Australian High Country is in dire straits. The prolonged drought has deeply affected the water catchment, with many of the usual bogs and fens now dry and no longer reticulating the life-giving waters that feed agriculture and the environment, as well as domestic needs, gardens and industrial purposes. Water is life and our lives are more important than salivating governments and investors hoping to make a quick buck out of the nation's water infrastructure.With privatisation we will almost certainly lose ownership of our water. Australia will become a vast Sahara if we do not maintain the vital corridors of riparian vegetation through adequate environmental flows to key rivers. Once the health of major rivers is compromised, it is difficult to maintain water for agriculture.The roller-coaster of soil erosion, wind erosion of topsoil, further denudation of vegetation including native grasses, loss of habitat for wildlife and, ultimately, the non-viability of agriculture will follow. The stock exchange does not figure when it is a question of life. Water is life and our water catchment and infrastructure must be protected from these rapacious governments and their investor friends.Acacia Rose Thredbo
© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald
