Proponents of the pipeline argue that it will boost the city’s water supply by 75 billion litres per year, but the reality is that it may, in fact, worsen the water crisis in the Murray-Darling Basin.

“If the Commonwealth is serious about the Murray-Darling they will stop this proposal dead in its tracks, particularly as there has been no environmental impact statement done,” Mr Piccoli said.

“If Melbourne can take water from the Goulburn River, which is part of the Murray-Darling Basin system of rivers, whenever they please, where

does this leave irrigators who rely on this water for food production and indeed for their livelihood?

“There are also repercussions for NSW because the pipeline will mean that water can be diverted from the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers in NSW to Melbourne.

“On top of that, diverting water from the Murray Darling Basin to Melbourne will impact on South Australia, and particularly Adelaide, by reducing flows into the Murray.

“There is no doubt that feeding Murray-Darling water into Melbourne is going to worsen the water crisis in the basin rather than solve it.

“The 170 private landholders in Victoria whose land the line will cross have reason to be concerned, and the fact that Melbourne can access additional water from the river system will make Melbournians more complacent rather than encouraging them to introduce efficiencies to conserve their existing water supply,” Mr Piccoli said.

“There is no good reason for this project to go ahead except to get the Victorian Government out of a tight spot quickly, and the NSW Nationals remain totally opposed to the proposal whilst there are better and fairer options available.

“The Victorian Government should be more proactive and must look at ways of better utilising their existing water supply, including storm water harvesting and recycling, before more water is taken from the Murray-Darling Basin,” Mr Piccoli said.