They don't have to think it up themselves. There are plenty of people willing to share their crazy ideas. Actually, a few premiers and PM's have suggested this sort of thing. They all got knocked back when reality (price) set in. Sorry I can't come up with names at the moment. I heard about it when I was a kid and was also enthralled with the idea.

How does desal poison the sea?

I'd expect the feasibility studies have already been done.

SEQ to get referendum on recycled water: http://ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1165390401

They are preparing to build a pipeline from Noosa to Brisbane: http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Work-underway-on-Sunshine-Coast-pipeline/200...

I can't believe the QLD government is doing this right now - trying to suck even more water out of the Murray to grow cotton.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Canberra-worried-about-Qld-water-sale/2007/01/10/1168105022601.html

The federal government has ordered an investigation into a Queensland plan to siphon huge volumes of water from the parched Murray-Darling system for agriculture.

The Queensland government wants to sell eight billion litres of water a year from the Warrego River catchment, a tributary of the Darling, beginning with two auctions in March.

The water would be used to irrigate farmlands including cotton and cattle properties.

So how much is this going to cost, and will the end users be charged for it? Are they actually going to build green power plants, or are they just going to divert green power from elsewhere and blame other electricity users for any new coal fired plants that are built. Talk about spin! They are going to increase our electricity consumption, not build more wind farms to compensate, then claim it is green powered.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Desalination-not-a-climate-gamble-govt/2007/01/19/1169095942804.html

NSW Water Utilities Minister David Campbell has reiterated the government's promise that the Kurnell plant would be fully green-powered.

Mr Campbell denied the decision, which rests on the prospect of rain next week, was an arbitrary gamble of more than one billion dollars.

"Government's made it clear that the desalination plant is the insurance policy, it's the last resort," Mr Campbell told ABC Radio.

"In the interim there's been a great deal of investment by the government and others in recycling infrastructure, in stormwater harvesting, government encouraged rebates for stormwater, the rainwater tanks and water-efficient washing machines.

A Sydney Water report into the 500 megalitre plant suggests it would require almost one million megawatt hours - the equivalent of all remaining green power currently available in Australia.

Looks like they are NOT going to build new green power plants to run it:

"The advice that I have is that there is absolute capacity in the system to have green power to run the desalination plant, should it be built," he said.

The NSW Greens have called for the reintroduction of level four water restrictions in place of the desalination plant.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/NSW-to-go-ahead-with-desalination-plant/2007/01/18/1169095917031.html

The controversial desalination plant proposed for Sydney's south to combat record low dam levels may go ahead before the March state elections, the NSW government says.

I live in the Northwest of WA.We had a metre of rain here last year mostly in the first 3 months.All the dams here are full but the rest of the state is suffering.The sweeping rains in the south have eased the situation for a while but is an ongoing problem that needs to be addressed.The pollies say that a trench or pipeline is unviable and desalination is the way to go.I think that is crap as desalination uses energy and has an effect on the ozone layer whereas tidal surges should be enough to power the pumps that push that water through a pipeline,if not help out with solar power.There are so many options available but the pollies need to make their masters happy and use every money draining practice before retirering with fat super payouts.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking-news/companies-to-have-no-say-on-water-price/2007/01/31/1169919398774.html

Private companies will profit from running Queensland's major water infrastructure but will have no say in water pricing, the government says.

Deputy Premier and Infrastructure Minister Anna Bligh said private companies with expertise in operating water infrastructure would be contracted to provide the "most cost effective" solution for taxpayers.

But all infrastructure would remain the property of the government, which would have full control of it and water pricing, she said.

"I would think that most people would understand that there are some things the private sector does better than the public," Ms Bligh said.

"If they can have a profit margin with a more efficient operation, I don't think that's going to surprise anybody."

She said water prices would rise but this was because of outlays for new infrastructure, not because of private contracts.

Ms Bligh said the Queensland Water Commission was investigating water pricing and would report to the government in February. Details would be released in the June budget.