Vic not interested in Tas water pipeline (AAP)

The Victorian government has scotched a proposal to pump in water from Tasmania via a massive undersea pipeline. A water consortium wants to pipe billions of litres of water under Bass Strait via a 350km pipe to quench drought-stricken Victoria. It estimates the project would cost $2 billion and supply Melbourne with 350 gigalitres of water a year. But the Victorian government says the cost is more in the vicinity of $8 billion to $12 billion and is not up for discussion. "This proposal is not on the table, we are committed to delivering the projects outlined in the Victorian water plan," a spokesman for Water minister Tim Holding said. The government is proceeding with a $4.9 billion plan to drought-proof Melbourne, which includes a desalination plant, an upgrade of northern Victorian irrigation networks and a connecting... [read full story]