Department of Sustainability and Environment

The Victorian Government does not manage the River Murray, as it's owned and managed by the NSW Government. However through the Goulburn-Murray Water they do manage the Dartmouth and Hume Dams which feed water into the River Murray.

The North South Pipeline from The Murray Darling Basin to Melbourne is an Issue of National Importance

The Victorian Labor Government is insistent on building a pipeline from the Goulburn River across the Great Dividing Range to Sugarloaf Reservoir. This pipe is known as the North South Pipeline (NS Pipeline). The 75 billion litres of water in the NS Pipeline will leave the Murray Darling Basin to support Melbourne’s consumption. In Northern Victoria, the removal of the water will have drastic and detrimental effects on the farming areas, the social fabric of the region, the environment.

Essentially this pipeline will remove billions of litres of water from the Dry North affecting the Goulburn and Murray Rivers and many rural communities. This has been done without consultation and without mandate by an unelected Premier whose government's draconian style has alienated 100,000's of people in country Victoria at a time of extreme drought and suffering.

The Plug the Pipe Group was formed in June 2007 and now has over 2700 members (and growing) consisting of environmentalists, farmers, tourist operators, businessmen, urban and rural people. Our membership traverses the state from Mildura in the North West to Yea in the North East. Please Join Us.