WE MIGHT have seen John Brumby and Tim Holding standing on the north-south pipeline, watching water gush into Sugarloaf last Wednesday. But did it really happen?
Invoking memories of the conspiracy theory that the 1969 moon landing was faked, anti-pipe protesters claimed last week's much anticipated pipe opening was a hoax.
Plug the Pipe's Jan Beer and the Nats' Peter Walsh insisted Brumby's official opening was a stunt and the pipeline pumps were never turned on.
Walshy was holding the line the following day, as were some in the regional media, despite water flowing strongly into the reservoir. Minister Tim even twittered that it "must have been fake water coming down the pipe".
By week's end it was pretty clear it was no hoax. Melbourne Water's flow chart for Sugarloaf shows a distinct surge in inflow between Wednesday and Friday, adding 325 megalitres.
While last Wednesday's opening was "one small step" for John Brumby, the pluggers' claims were "one giant leap of logic for mankind".
