In February 1999, heavy rainfalls in the catchment areas of the Mary and other rivers of South East Queensland caused extensive flooding in the Maryborough and Gympie areas. Minor flooding occurred along the Sunshine Coast. Release of water from Wivenhoe Dam also caused damage to roads and bridges in the Brisbane Valley. Gympie has had nearly 200 flood peaks of varying magnitudes since 1870. The peak of the Gympie flood was 21.95 metres, slightly less than the estimated 50 year flood level of 22.9 metres. The main Mary Street mall was under several metres of water which resulted in damage to commercial property.

“All the Water in the World” by Roger Bate, Resident Fellow of the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC, examines claims of a global water crisis and compares the management of water resources from country to country. The book concludes that global water resources could be managed with greater efficiency and less waste through domestic water trading markets and commends Australia for its creation of “the most sophisticated trading regime in the world”.

A report from Christopher Monckton disputing the data of the Stern Report on Global Warming

Dr David Evans describes the history of why we used to believe that carbon emissions caused global warming, and how we got to where we are now in the debate: Nov 2007

New York Times Apr 2007 The climate divide reports from four fronts in the war on warming - by Andrew C Revkin

Managing Freshwater inflows to Estuaries. Yuna River Hydrolic Characterisation

Objectives of Study The aim of Least Cost Planning or Integrated Resource Planning is to identify an appropriate balance between system operation / capacity expansion costs and the savings associated with programs aimed at increasing the efficiency of water use. The objective of this study is to determine the potential for water use efficiency improvements in the Queensland urban water sector using a Least Cost Planning approach, to develop options to increase the efficiency of water use and to estimate the costs and benefits of implementing such options.

American study researching environmental flows to estuaries, (similar in size, issues, climatology and impact to the Mary River).

Panos Media Briefing No 29 (July/ Aug 1998 Is Water privatisation the answer to access? "The private sector is set to emerge as a major player in one of the world’s most vital industries. With deficit-ridden governments encouraged to yield space to private enterprise, the trend towards privatisation is likely to intensify. Experiments undertaken in Argentina, the Philippines and elsewhere in the South have already pointed the way for governments to enter into contracts with water management firms. In order to attract private investors, however, governments have to offer opportunities for profit. This in turn raises a key question: can water be viewed as just another commodity? Private control of water will inevitably impose the rigours of market pricing on consumers, with all the political, economic and social implications which that entails."

Recycled Sewage Contaminates Crops By Edo McGowan Recycled water is being used extensively for irrigation in the Salinas Valley. There are about 12,000 acres of leafy green and other consumed raw crops in that area, and the reclaimed water from the Monterey sewer plant goes out to these crops. Salinas is an area that has experienced numerous problems with pathogencontaminated foods, but the state has seldom if ever looked at the recycled water as part of the problem. Why? Answer, in part: too much political capital at risk.

Bureau of Meteorology Queensland. Heavy rain commenced in the upper Mary River late on Sunday 7 February and continued intermittently until about noon on Tuesday 9 February. In the lower Mary River, the heavy rain also commenced about the same time but only continued for about 6 hours late Sunday and then again for 3 to 6 hours Tuesday morning 9 February.

THE M&M CRITIQUE OF THE MBH98 NORTHERN HEMISPHERE CLIMATE INDEX: UPDATE AND IMPLICATIONS Stephen McIntyre 512–120 Adelaide St. West, Toronto, Ontario Canada M5H 1T1; Ross McKitrick Department of Economics, University of Guelph, Guelph Ontario Canada N1G2W1.

Hockey sticks, principal components, and spurious significance Stephen McIntyre Northwest Exploration Co., Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada Ross McKitrick Department of Economics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Richard Lourey wants investors to consider water an asset class in its own right, similar to property or equities, As managing director of MFS Aqua Managers, the wholly owned subsidiary of QLD investment bank MFS and manager of the new MFS Water Fund that is not surprising.

The fingerprint of anthropogenic greenhouse warming predicted by computer models is absent from real-world, observed trends in atmospheric temperature change

"The ideology of industrial society, driven by notions about economic growth, ever-rising standards of living, and faith in the technological fix, is in the long run unworkable. In changing our ideas, we have to look forward towards the eventual target of a human society in which population, use of resources, disposal of waste, and environment are generally in healthy balance. Above all we have to look at life with respect and wonder. We need an ethical system in which the natural world has value not just for human welfare but for and in itself. The universe is something internal as well as external." Sir Crispin Tickell, in his address “The Earth Our Destiny” 2002

Article from the 1970's where scientists argue that the danger confronting mankind is global cooling.

Aug 2006: Glossy brochure (with the agenda for the conference) inviting business interests into sharing in QLD's booming water markets and investment opportunities, such as the proposed Traveston Crossing Dam.

Can our political leaders deliver real solutions on climate change?

Article from the The Nimbin Good Times:-Aug 2007 Opposition leader Kevin Rudd travelled to Tyalgum in late July and spoke with some 200 residents about Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s proposal to dam the northern rivers. He was accompanied by Member for Richmond Justine Elliott and Shadow Minister for Water, Anthony Albanese, who all stated their opposition to the dams

Study by A L Schlafer and S Beder (The University of Woollongong) Water recycling is a multidisciplinary and often controversial topic. Public resistance has been identified as a key barrier to water recycling even though it can be an environmentally sound and technologically feasible solution to problems of heavy water usage and scarcity. Lack of trust in water authorities, as well as fear of the unknown, appear to be drivers in some public responses.

"A desalination facility's most significant effect could be its potential for inducing growth. The existing pressures on California's coastal resources are substantial, even with the protections provided by such measures as the Coastal Act and other laws. If desalination removes the limits imposed on growth along the coast due to the current limited supply of water, the degradation of coastal resources could increase beyond sustainable levels. Adequate, comprehensive review of the issues will be a critical part of reviewing proposed facilities to ensure the California coast remains a place of environmental value and public enjoyment."

by Daniel Rosenfeld....Direct evidence demonstrates that urban and industrial air pollution can completely shut off precipitation from clouds that have temperatures at their tops of about Ð10¡C over large areas. Satellite data reveal plumes of reduced cloud particle size and suppressed precipitation originating from major urban areas and from industrial facilities such as power plants. Measurements obtained by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite reveal that both cloud droplet coalescence and ice precitation formation are inhibited in polluted clouds.

Could a radical Australian idea for floating self-powered desalination reservoirs be a timely solution for water supplies, changing the way we handle water on land? It is an ingenious idea, and it just might work.Wendy Pyper reports.

This book has been compiled with all Australian citizens in mind, in particular those who may face the prospect of having to drink recycled sewage water added to their domestic supply. It alerts people to worldwide scientific studies, findings and opinions which would not be told to them by their state or local authorities during “education compaigns” to convince people to accept recycled sewage water in their water supply for drinking.

The use of recycled water for non-drinking purposes will continue to increase, as it has for the past 10 years. Since 1999/2000 the volume of water recycled by urban water utilities has doubled. Per capita, Australia already recycles more than two and a half times the amount of water recycled in European countries and internationally is viewed as an innovator and world leader in this field.

An explanation of the past and present conflicts in Central Asia, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent?

Fact Sheet - Purified recycled water (Produced by the QLD Water Commission)

NSW Government plan for Sydney, and Metropolitan area, future water needs and supply. Note: NO NEW DAMS.

Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee - A discussion paper produced by the Future Water Options Sub-Committee (July 2005)

Friends of the Earth International - global and local resistance to the control and commodification of water. “Water should be treated as a social and cultural good, and not primarily as an economic commodity.” UN Committee on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights.

An overview by Selwyn Johnston, Independent candidate for Leichhardt in 2007, on Australian states and their privatisation of public assets.