What is he hiding?
Colin Barnett is not prepared to submit his canal plan to the same financial scrutiny as his other policies. According to the West (p8):
As Opposition Leader Colin Barnett continued his unconditional support for the canal plan yesterday, he was forced to admit that the ambitious proposal would not be scrutinised by an independent accounting firm before the State election.
He said the canal plan would not be analysed by BDO, the international accounting firm which will check the financial credibility of all the Opposition’s other promises.
Perhaps he’s concerned that they would reach the same conclusion as John Quiggin:
But the real problems are with the economics. Barnett has promised to deliver water at $1 a kilolitre, but this can’t be done, even on the most optimistic assumptions. Taking Tenix’s claimed construction cost of $2 billion, and a very conservative EBITDA ratio of 10, the capital costs for the project would be $200 million a year. Even at the claimed maximum flow of 200 gigalitres a year, this would use up the whole $1/kl without allowing anything for pumping, maintenance, treatment or reticulation.
More plausible estimates for construction costs, including staging costs, are up to $4 billion, and a more likely estimate for total capital costs (return on capital, depreciation and amortisation) is 12.5 per cent, putting the capital costs alone at $2.50/kl. In addition, each kl of water is a tonne of matter that has to be pumped 3700km, with little help from gravity. That’s not going to be cheap. The WA Treasury has estimated the delivered costs at $6.50/kl, compared to current prices ranging from $0.41 to $1.50.
Then there’s the fact that the proposal is a BOOT scheme, with the illusory benefit of handing the project back to the public after 40 years. Of course, there is no free lunch here. The cost is built into prices, usually with a handsome profit margin built in.
Colon has no clue about the cost, that’s why he’s not prepared to put the costings under the microscope.
This plan has shades of WA Inc all over again.
According to Ch 7 News, colon thought of the canal idea all by himself and consulted NO-ONE in the party or his MP’s or candidates.
He’s trying to be Jeff Kennett, and failing badly :-)
Canal vs Desalination
The issue that has dominated the WA election campagin is Colin Barnett’s canal plan… Here are all the posts pertaining to the debate, I will update this list as we go…
Poor Colin – the far canal is just so damn impractical – what a ridiculous bloody idea and he has gambled everything on it.
When I first heard of the idea I pondered on what sort of self absorbed business man would consider raping the environment indefinitely all the way up and down West Australia’s pristine coast – it would take a total LACK of vision to not see the destruction of Western Australia’s environment.
How incredibly selfish to think that thousands and thousands of years of the country’s existance is just not viable to sustain our disgusting urban sprawl.
If Colin wants Venice maybe he should go there and leave the bush the way it’s meant to be, the way mother nature intended it.
Haven’t businessmen f^#%*d up the environment enough yet, the planet has still to sustain generations of our children and all they can see are the tacky vote-winners of the day?
Why don’t they just start pushing cigarettes and cfc’s on the general public again.
You can’t buy a new environment when you have totally f%*#@d the old one, anyone who supports this hair-brained idea needs to get a grip on reality.