Senior Liberal wants centralised control over water resources

June 3, 2006

NSW Senator Bill Heffernan wants the Federal government to take control of all the nations waterways. He is calling for a referendum on this issue.

The move comes after the Federal government pulled out of the sale of the Snowy Hydro scheme because of community opposition

Mr Heffernan has accused the states of bad mismanagement of the waterways, and says that a central nationwide organisation should look after them. "Australians today should have great heart and great national pride in the fact that people power has convinced the politicians that we ought to retain one of the seven engineering wonders of the world in safe hands," he said.

New South Wales Environment Minister Bob Debus has rejected the proposal to give responsibility to the Federal government, he says he cannot see how they could manage it by themselves, "It has no particular skills to do so and we still need the states to be involved," he said.