A SPLIT has developed within the Victorian Coalition, with Liberal MP Philip Davis opposing the construction of any new dams within the Gippsland Lakes catchment.
Mr Davis's position sits in stark contrast with Coalition rural water spokesman Peter Walsh's view that the Coalition investigate building dams in Gippsland and other parts of the state.
Mr Walsh said Coalition policy was to examine building new dams in the lead-up to the 2010 election "across the whole state".
The Nationals, Victorian Farmers Federation and media commentators have repeatedly raised the prospect of building a dam on the Mitchell River to supply Melbourne.
But Mr Davis said it was "unacceptable" to build more dams in the lakes' catchment.
"The view that more water from rivers can be captured regularly and diverted from rivers in the catchment is unacceptable, because of the damaging impact that would have on the lakes and the wetlands and therefore threaten their long-term ecological health," Mr Davis said.
In a radio interview last week Premier John Brumby rejected proposals to dam the Mitchell.
