THE Brumby government's signature water saving projects were implemented without proper costings and without evidence that they were feasible, the Auditor-General has found.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
In a damning critique of the $2 billion ''food bowl'' modernisation and the $750 million north-south pipeline, the auditor found Labor had failed to demonstrate the need for the expenditure and to properly explore alternatives.
The report will add to the pressure on the government over its handling of major projects in the lead-up to the November state election.
The food bowl project, the largest irrigation upgrade ever undertaken in Australia, is intended to save 225 billion litres of water a year in its first stage, with up to 75 billion litres delivered to Melbourne and the rest shared between farmers and the environment.
As the state waits for the Commonwealth to sign off on a $1 billion contribution to stage two of the project, critics said the auditor's report could sway Canberra to invest the money on other water-saving methods.
The report, tabled in Parliament Wednesday, says expected water savings have not been achieved and the effectiveness of modernising the irrigation network is uncertain.
''There is no assurance that these projects were the most cost-effective solutions to the government's policy priorities,'' says the report.
While acknowledging the government faced a water crisis when it adopted its $4.9 billion water plan in 2007, including the food bowl and pipeline projects, the report says it failed to demonstrate the need for the multibillion-dollar expenditure, or to consider alternatives.
It also highlights a lack of transparency and active resistance to scrutiny. In the course of his inquiry, acting Auditor-General Peter Frost resorted to the seldom-used coercive technique of interviewing bureaucrats under oath.
The state opposition claimed the auditor's report as vindication of its long-standing criticism of the projects and called for an independent judicial inquiry. Country water resources spokesman Peter Walsh described the food bowl modernisation and pipeline as ''ill-conceived projects planned by a panicked government which, for 10 years, had failed to plan for Victoria's water needs''.
''Today's Auditor-General's report further exposes John Brumby's poor governance and mismanagement of the food bowl modernisation project and the north-south pipeline, where taxpayers' money has been wasted without proper rigour or accountability from the very start,'' he said.
Water Minister Tim Holding agreed that the schemes needed better planning and said the government would note the report's lessons for future major projects.
But he said he would not apologise for rushing the irrigation upgrades. ''If we'd not rushed to make sure we completed these projects as quickly as possible we would have been at real risk of the state running out of water.''
Mr Holding said the hurry to complete the project had saved many farmers from going to the wall. He also dismissed opposition claims that the government misled voters over the stage-one water savings.
As revealed in The Sunday Age, the first business case failed at cabinet in August 2008 because it could not identify the promised 225 billion litres of water savings for the $1 billion price tag. It was not until June last year that a final business case was approved. ''What's changed over the last two years? Nothing,'' said Mr Holding. ''The savings we originally claimed are being made.''
The auditor also found that:
■ The business case for the food bowl project was developed after the project was approved, contrary to guidelines.
■ Work on the food bowl project started before the business case was finally approved.
■ Business cases for the food bowl project and other upgrades in the Central Goulburn, Shepparton and Macalister districts were developed without sufficient evidence they were needed.
■ The government failed to consider options other than the expensive automation of irrigation channels.
The community group that has fought for three years against the north-south pipeline, Plug The Pipe, said the report confirmed its worst fears.
''It shows the water savings are unachievable, that there are massive cost overruns and that water will double the price in a very short space of time,'' said spokesman Ken Pattison.
Greens MP Greg Barber said the extra $1 billion Canberra was considering spending on the food bowl project should be used to buy back water from irrigators. ''[Federal Water Minister] Penny Wong would be irresponsible to hand over a billion for a second part of this project when the promised environmental and water savings benefits are just not there,'' he said.
