THE Victorian Government has by-passed Opposition attempts to block the flow of water down the north-south pipeline.
Last week the Coalition, Greens and DLP used their numbers in Victoria's Upper House to block Government amendments to Goulburn Murray Water's bulk entitlements to store and deliver water savings from stage one of the Northern Victorian Irrigation Renewal Project to Melbourne, the environment and irrigators.
However the Government has simply by-passed the disallowance motion by directing the Goulburn Murray Water corporation to sign water supply agreements with Melbourne water retailers, allowing water savings to flow down the pipeline.
GMW is due to sign similar agreements to deliver water to the environment in coming weeks.
About 54,000 megalitres of water was due to be saved by the end of this financial year, under the stage one of the NVIRP project.
Coalition country water spokesman Peter Walsh said the Opposition voted to disallow the amendments last week because they failed to deliver on the Government's promise that water savings from the second stage of NVIRP would be equally shared between irrigators and the environment.
The bulk entitlement amendment simply states the water saving would be shared: "having regard to any agreement with the Commonwealth of Australia that applies to these savings".
Stage two of pipeline, worth $1 billion, is due to be funded by the Federal Government.
"The Brumby Government's refusal to close this loophole gives food producers every justification for thinking Labor has done a secret backroom deal with the Federal Government," Mr Walsh said.
