Discussion: Rain?

2 mm out this way.

Some people have all the luck - it looks like you did worse out of this system than just about anywhere else in the state, although I notice you've got another 5.6 today. 30 for us all up (27 before 9 a.m., 3 after).

Might have had a 5mm deluge in bendigo, but on the Maiden Gully gardens, the cumulative total for the weekend is now 3 mm. And to think I put any faith in that GFS model.

On the subject of water and Bendigo, I'm a little mystified that Eril Rathjen is running in Bendigo when Goulburn Valley interests are almost as bitterly opposed to sending water to Bendigo as they are to sending it to Melbourne. Even if her objective was to maximise damage to Labor rather than get elected herself, I would have thought that she would have been better off running in McEwen.

You are making the entirely unwarranted assumption that intelligence is a personal quality associated with candidates from this end of the political spectrum.

And after having just read the latest press release from Eril, my prejudices are fully confirmed. Apparently the water pipeline to Bendigo will not help with the town's water security problems, but will merely give us a false sense of security. Whats more, the State Governments refusal to sign the NWI is apparently going to doom Victoria to water insecurity for evermore. Where does such ignorance come from? Is it born or is it created?

I missed the opportunity to meet give her a solid heckle in the Mall at lunchtime. Didn't find out till afterwards. That would have been loads of entertainment. Almost as good as the Corangamite Greens candidate who covered herself in a very thick layer of egg at the local ABC radio election forum. After the standard stump speech on matters Green, the moderator asked her the Green position on water entitlements. Stunned silence. then a frantic 'not quite enough off-mike' exchange with her adviser. Quick. Help. What are water entitlements? And much more in a very desperate tone. It was possibly the only honest line from all candidates in the whole debate. From that point on composure was totally lost. Sounded like an embarrassed schoolgirl apologising to teacher for the dog eating her homework. The Country Hour devoted a full three or four minutes to the recorded exchange with no interruption.

Sounds like a classic, although in partial defence I wouldn't have thought that water entitlements would have been as hot an issue in Corangamite as they would be in, say, Murray.

It was an absolute clanger. Similar standard to Tony Abbot's performance. But betraying rank ingnorance rather thyan rudeness. Seeing the Greens have a national policy on returning 1500+ GL to the Murray, one would have thought the candidates would have been aware of the implications.