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BY BRUCE RUSSELL
When Opposition Leader Paul Omodei suggested damming the Fitzroy to make the Kimberley the 'food bowl of the nation' he must have known he's be in for a fight.
If there was ever an issue likely to get the radical greens jumping up and down like fleas on hot cement then this was going to be it.
Not since the damming of the Franklin proposal in Tasmania, now many moons ago, has such a radical proposal been put forward.
Nor one with so much merit for the greater good.
Let's face it, we have built very few dams in recent years as the radical greens have held sway.
Population has grown dramatically and, even without getting into the climate change debate, providing and hoarding water to keep up with development has just not happened.
Whilst the greens want no more dams, they have no alternative and are happy that fertile black soil plains should be used for growing 'bush tucker' and the like.
In the East Kimberley, there is no shortage of land and certainly no shortage of water.
Why? It's obvious - we not only have a dam, but we have two.
However, remoteness from market and economies of scale has meant we cannot seriously look at becoming the 'national food bowl' or a 'food bowl for Asia'.
Add the Fitzroy and a whole new picture emerges.
It could be a massively productive region with benefits for all concerned.
Mr Omodei wants to dam the Fitzroy River to develop an irrigation system similar to the Ord River scheme.
He said there was a crisis facing the future of Australian food production given the poor state of the Murray Darling basin.
Mr Omodei said once the dam was built and industry established, the feasibility of piping excess water to Perth via a pipeline could be investigated.
"WA already produces most of the nation's wealth through our booming mining industry," he said.
"We can now put ourselves in a position to produce the nation's food.
"This is not a pipe-dream; it is our responsibility."
Mr Omodei said the 20-year plan was still in its concept stage and a Liberal Government would provide funding for a feasibility study of the project in its first budget. |
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