PLEASE
READ THIS PROPOSAL
and...
If
you like
the idea, get
it to the genuine
greenies who love
the river and
have the brains
to realise that
we need productivity
and activity as
well as protection
of our environment.
Get it to the
unions and the
students. With
massive support
we can pressure
politicians into
doing something
other than tax
us. Nothing will
happen without
pressure from
the people. |
The
mean flow
of the Murray-Darling
system has been
estimated at 14,000
GL/year. That's
444 cumecs.
The Bogimbah at
20 m x 1 m at 6
km/h has been estimated
at 33 cumecs, i.e.
7.5% of the Murray-Darling
system mean flow
-- and that's from
only one
of Fraser Island's
rivers.
What a fantastic
kick-start that
would be -- it would
bring a transformation
to the microclimate
all along the Murray-Darling
system, and would
produce millions
of dollars a year
in extra GDP.
Kevin Rudd ought
to get behind this
proposal and forget
about his ETS/climate
change/global warming
nonscience (pronounced
nonsense) -- it
would bring about
REAL climate change
-- for the good
of all Australians.
He could even pay
for it with Australia's
own freshly-created
money, spent without
incurring any national
debt! |
INTRODUCTION
Every
Australian who lives along
the Darling/Murray river
system wants the river
to be healthy, full of
fish and still able to
provide the cities, towns
and farms with water.
Not one of them wants
the river catchment used
as an excuse to stop farming
or impose huge water taxes,
irrigation license fees,
minuscule quotas, and
outlandish recreational
fees and restrictions.
The desires of all can
be met by a scheme so
simple that it is hard
to believe it was not
done years ago. The plan
is to inject water into
the river source. The
water is there and the
money is there. The manpower
is sitting idle.
Saving
the Rivers
We
can save the rivers by
increasing the water flow.
The Weekend Australian
– 16 Feb 2002 said,
“The Murray River
is Dying.” This
overall plan is to desalinate
the River system by pumping
fresh water into the headwaters
of the river in Qld.
The
advantages
The
salt goes. The algae goes.
The crops get water. The
fish don’t die.
The
river is saved. The greenies
are happy. The farmers
are allowed to earn a
living, and the towns
along the Murray in SA,
western NSW and southern
rural Qld will all prosper.
We need to introduce sensible
green policies. Help the
people along the Murray
Darling river system.
Provide jobs for Australian
youth and adults, reduce
taxes and boost the national
economy
Prior
Knowledge Needed
Coal
powered stations have
to be capable of producing
the peak load but they
work better on a constant
load. Hydro generators
work well on any load
and they can be used as
a pump to lift water.
Energy
The
surplus energy of a coal
powered station can push
water high in off peak
load periods, and let
it fall during peak loads.
This is how the Snowy
works.
Cost
Factors
The
peak load hydro power
station requires no power
source so it’s cheap
to build. A 300 megawatt
coal powered station costs
$800 million. Qld is already
building new coal powered
stations to cater for
peak loads which will
have even more unused
off peak capacity. This
plan doesn’t require
a new power station. It’s
already there and operating
with huge unused capacity
during off peak periods.
Geography
Fraser
Island is only 200 km
from the headwaters of
the Murray-Darling system,
less than the distance
from Perth to Kalgoorlie.
The island has a high
annual rainfall.
This
gives it a water catchment
equal to the low rainfall
of the larger Darling
catchment. The water from
Fraser Island currently
flows into the sea - just
wasted. The water is so
pure that it is exported
as pure spring water (with
no chemicals). The Tarong
coal fired station is
very close to the proposed
project, with others at
Biloela and Millmerran
close by.
The
Brainwave
As
I drove inland from the
coast through the Great
Dividing Range between
Kingaroy and Bell in Qld,
I went up a valley on
the eastern side, through
a pass, into a valley
on the western side of
the range and encountered
a sign which said, “You
are now in the Murray
Darling Catchment”.
I
thought, if only we could
inject fresh water into
the river at this point,
the Murray/Darling could
give water to the inland
without being so depleted
that it almost ceased
to flow. The states would
not need to fight for
a share of the scarce
water. I remembered the
unlimited water rushing
into the sea from Fraser
Island. I had in my mind’s
eye a picture of Bogimbah
Creek when I last swam
in it. It was 20 metres
wide, one metre deep –
crystal clear water, flowing
at about 6 kph.
What
would the farmers on the
Murray/Darling give for
that water, why should
they give anything, it’s
theirs, it’s part
of Australia, and it’s
there for all Australians.
I pondered the Perth to
Kalgoorlie pipeline, put
there in the horse and
buggy era.
I
pictured the pipes at
the Hoover Dam in USA
put there half a century
ago, and thought of the
unemployed in Australia,
and thought - WHY NOT?
The Plan
If
we put a dam in the Bunya
Mountains we can feed
it through one vertical
pipe with the electric
pump at the bottom of
that pipe. The pump gets
its water through a gate
valve on the eastern side,
from Fraser Island during
times when the power stations
have unused generating
capacity.
During
peak periods the gate
valve is shut and a second
gate valve on the western
side is opened. As the
water discharges the pump
generates the electricity
needed during peak periods.
This would obviate the
need to build another
coal-powered station to
meet current and predicted
electricity needs. The
water flows into the Murray/Darling
system to revitalize it
on its journey to the
sea in S.A.. The majority
of the money is already
there in the $1.4 billion
the federal government
has granted to save the
Murray River. We don’t
need to do earthworks
on Fraser Island. We simply
put a wall around the
mouth of Bogimbah Creek
and pump from there. The
Pacific Ocean won’t
even notice the drop-in-the-ocean
we divert.
It
will get to the ocean
via S. A. and through
evaporation and the constant
flow will top up the Artesian
Basin. There are about
ten freshwater creeks
that could be diverted
into the Murray/ Darling
from Fraser Island. The
island is only 14 km from
the mainland. Even that
first 14 km pipe would
be vital. That would solve
the water shortage problems
for Hervey Bay city.
Other
considerations
Other
federal funding would
be available from the
Work-for-the-Dole schemes.
Instead of laying 18th
century paving stones,
planting shrubs and playing
silly games that amuse
bureaucrats, our youth
could be engaged in real
work getting real skills
and improving their self
esteem.
Training
The
training opportunities
would be endless. The
instructors from TAFE
could be employed teaching
on-the-job skills needed
in the construction and
to maintain and repair
the equipment. Opportunities
would be created for older
workers on-the-scrap-heap
to train youngsters as
hydraulic technicians,
diesel mechanics, auto
electricians, plant operators,
surveyors, crane operators,
welders, fitters, turners,
riggers, drivers, etc.
Equipment
Unused
earth moving equipment
from every shire could
be used. This is better
than having equipment
sitting idle and it is
an inexpensive way of
contributing to a vital
project.
Manufacture
Our
manufacturing industry
would get a welcome boost
to make pipes, pumps,
structures, and footings
etc. This could revitalize
Australia’s engineering
and manufacturing .
Flow
On
Temporary
towns would be created.
This would create employment
for carpenters, painters,
plumbers, drainers, and
electricians. Nearby rural
towns will be revitalized
as they supply the temporary
towns. Suicide rates of
our youth will decrease.
Jobs would be created
in the service, entertainment,
food and transport industries.
Would
there be opposition?
The Federal government
has allocated $1.4 billion
to solve the salination
problem, however, here
is a hidden agenda to
federalise the Murray.
The major parties are
party to an international
agreement to “privatise”
water and make it a “commodity”.
This means that water
is traded on the Futures
Market like every other
commodity. The catchments
are leased or sold to
the highest bidder (always
foreign multi-inationals).
The multinationals then
sell the water to farmers
and to city ratepayers
AT A PROFIT OF COURSE.
The major parties are
also party to an agreement
to privatise National
Parks. Fraser Island is
a World Heritage listed
national park. The parties
cannot admit that we no
longer own and/or have
a say in the utilisation
of resources on Fraser
Island. We are putting
them in a position where
they have to repudiate
the agreement or admit
to the Australian people
that it exists.
There
is also a plan to expunge
our national debt by handing
our national parks to
the IMF in a debt-for-equity
swap. The parks have already
been valued and are listed
on the World Assets Register.
Federal politicians might
be embarrassed if they
had to start using assets
they have pledged to the
IMF. Having the river
system owned by the four
states and keeping it
out of federal hands means
there is less chance of
the major parties selling
the whole river system
to foreign interests.
They
have sold our oil, gas,
ports, coal, metal, gems,
minerals, shipping, airports,
air lines, rail, buses,
trams, ferries and trucking,
electricity, phone, radio,
TV, newspapers, satellites,
Internet services, tourist
resorts, hotels, motels,
marinas, major shops,
banks, insurance, stock
exchange, public utilities
such as water sewerage,
garbage, electricity distribution,
our defense industries,
our Army, Navy and RAAF,
repair, maintenance, security,
cooking, provisioning,
accommodation, coastal
patrols and even the workers’
superannuation schemes.
Even the rain that falls
in water catchments has
been declared A COMMODITY.
This means the multinationals
can buy rain in good times
through the Futures Market
and sell it back to the
farmers in bad times at
a huge profit.
Licensing
Annual
license fees never achieve
anything but a proliferation
of bureaucrats, bean counters,
inspectors, legislative
and regulatory nightmares
and hordes of hangers-
on and parasites living
by making the farmers
and producers’ lives
a misery. Bruce Gunning,
a Moree-based real estate
agent who specialises
in irrigation water, said:
“Water is the fastest
appreciating asset in
rural Australia.”
In Moree in 1980 a standard
972M1 license was $150,000.
“They are now $1.67
million, separating land
and water titles will
enable greater tradeability
of the water.” Mr
Gunning said.
Forced
Closure of Farms
The government uses quotas
to bring the farmers to
such poverty they cannot
keep going and can’t
find anyone crazy enough
to buy a government-strangled
farm. The government then
gets generous. They offer
to buy the farmer out
and put him and his family
on the dole in some dying
town. The farm is then
sold to foreign interests
for a pittance to be held
un-productive until the
multinationals own all
access to water supply.
In some cases the farmer
is retained as a share-farmer
to work as a slave on
less that award wages
at the only trade he knows.
Control
of Catchments
The
bulk of the state becomes
quasi communist where
the freeholder has no
right to any say as to
what he does on his property.
To cut a tree, poison
a weed,grade a road, or
dig a hole invokes fines
of $40,000 in applications,
delays, obstruction and
rejections. The bureaucrats
make sure no mistakes
are made by making sure
nothing gets done. They
don’t care if the
farmers are starving to
death for as long as they
get their $65,000 a year
plus superannuation, early
retirement etc.
Privatisation
of Dams
The
major parties signed a
UN treaty to make water
a commodity. The water
from the dams paid for
by taxpayers is being
corporatised, privatised
and foreignised. It is
now a “commodity”
to be sold by
multi-nationals to farmers
at whatever price they
set.
Funding
We
could avoid the cost of
building two coal-powered
stations that will eventually
be needed for Toowoomba,
Gold Coast and Brisbane
areas because enough water
would be lifted equal
to that needed for two
hydroelectric generators
capable of supplying predicted
peak needs for about ten
years. The two coal fired
stations not built would
create a saving of well
over $1.5 billion. This,
with the federal pledge
of $1.4 billion to solve
the algae and salination
problems of the Murray-Darling
would go a long way towards
funding the project.
Environmental
By
using the hydro-electricity,
generated by the falling
water redirected from
Fraser Island, because
the water is taken at
the point of entry to
the sea there is no adverse
effects on the lakes,
creeks and dunes of Fraser
Island. There are no huge
dams to be built. A small
circular pond deep enough
to allow the pumps to
take water without ingesting
sand would suffice. The
excess fresh water the
pumps could not handle
would still flow into
the sea, and the Pacific
Ocean would not miss it
one bit, nor be affected.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
FIRST
and IMMEDIATE action
Send
this information to every
local authority and every
Chamber of Commerce on
the river, in the four
states, asking for their
backing, because the Federal
and State governments
will not agree to this
plan.
...........................................................
SAVE THE RIVERS
Do
we know how ? .... Yes
Do
we have the materials
? ..... Yes
Do
we have the manpower ?
.... Yes
Can
we afford it ? .... Yes
..........................................................
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