Were we misled or just lied to?

PREMIER Mike Rann has been accused of misleading voters during the election campaign by indicating he would secure 400 billion litres of extra water for South Australia from the Queensland floods.

The Opposition yesterday seized on evidence given to a federal budget estimates committee in Canberra by a Murray Darling Basin Authority spokesman that only about 220 billion litres would be delivered to SA from the floods.

SA Senator and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin Simon Birmingham said Mr Rann had raised expectations during the election campaign that state would receive significantly more water than is now forecast.

"It is clear that Mike Rann deliberately misled South Australians in the middle of the election campaign about one of the most important issues facing our state. It was a truly shameful act," he said.

"The MDBA was quite clear that, at best, Mike Rann negotiated an extra 100 gigalitres of flows back in January, which is a mere pittance of the hundreds of gigalitres Mr Rann claimed during the election." ..............

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