Coalition MPs say dam plan shows vision THE federal opposition denies the authorised leaking of a draft plan to build 100 new dams but says it's unashamed about having a vision for Australia's future. Under the plan, a coalition government would consider building up to 100 dams across the country to prevent floods, fuel power stations and irrigate food bowls. The proposal, outlined in a leaked draft policy discussion paper, would cost around $30 billion if it was approved and implemented. Labor MPs and the Australian Greens have derided the idea, branding it a thought bubble that couldn't be properly costed. Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce denied it was rash, saying it had been worked on for years. The "key policy" showed Australians the coalition had been diligent in preparing itself as a credible alternative government. "It won't just be the same disaster with different bums on the seats," Senator Joyce told reporters in Canberra on Thursday. Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt stressed it was a draft discussion paper drawn from ideas submitted to a coalition taskforce. But the coalition, as an alternative government, was "unashamed" about having plans to tackle floods and build Australia into one of the world's great food bowls, he said. Cabinet minister Craig Emerson said it was "policy in chaos" and accused the coalition of deliberately leaking plans in a bid to garner public support. Last week, a copy of a draft coalition discussion paper proposing incentives and beneficial tax rates to encourage people to move to northern Australia was leaked. "It gets weirder and weirder by the day," Dr Emerson said. Senator Eric Abetz, among other coalition members, rejected suggestions the plan was an authorised leak, claiming the source was unknown. "People reading the document may well be satisfied that we are doing the serious ground work of policy development," he said. Greens MP Adam Bandt said the idea was less about nation building and more about environmental destruction. "Uncosted, multi-billion plans to just go around and wreck rivers are a worrying sign of the brutal Australia that might come both for people and the environment if (Opposition Leader) Tony Abbott is elected," he said. The Nature Conservation Council of NSW CEO Pepe Clark said the plan was "grandiose and ill-conceived" and should be rejected by Mr Abbott as unnecessary and expensive.