Compromise Breaks Through Murray River Logjam
The Age
Thursday March 27, 2008
IN THE end, the fate of the Murray River was sealed over fresh fruit, toast and muesli.
At a health-conscious breakfast at the Adelaide Hyatt yesterday morning, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Premier John Brumby spent the better part of two hours finessing the final details of an historic compromise deal after a frantic night of shuttle diplomacy.By the end of the day - after water officials held a parallel meeting beside the gathering of political leaders at COAG - the pair were ready to share their breakthrough with the nation. But if the final deal seemed swift to onlookers, it had been a long time coming. Mr Brumby and Mr Rudd had held two hour-long discussions in recent months, one just before Christmas and another in late January. Ten days ago, the prospects of a compromise increased when Mr Brumby flew to Canberra to meet Mr Rudd on Labour Day."We agreed at that meeting that in the run-up to COAG, 10 days to go, that we would give it our best go at trying to get an agreement," Mr Brumby said yesterday.From that point on, the talks took on an urgency that had hitherto been missing.The leaders and their officials landed in Adelaide on Tuesday afternoon for a last desperate burst of talks, which lasted until about 1.30am.The sticking points were stubbornly held: among them, Victoria's demand for a say over the new federal water cap and keeping control of its water allocations, as well as a bid for infrastructure funds.By breakfast, the final touches were being put on the deal.
© 2008 The Age
