Dam veto ‘fell short’
FATAL flaws in the Nullinga Dam business case parameters have been laid bare as Cairns Regional Council claims the proposal was set up to fail.
The State Government backed out of the water project on the Atherton Tablelands after finding it would cost up to $975 million and cost farmers an exorbitant $15,900 per megalitre.
Council officers have dug through the methodology used to nix the plan and found a glaring list of issues.
The business case adopted a 30-year appraisal period from construction to completion to 2060 – so only 25 years of agricultural benefits were considered.
Mayor Bob Manning said dams were long-term infrastructure projects, pointing to the ongoing benefits Tinaroo Dam has delivered since it was built six decades ago.
“Assuming Nullinga Dam would not deliver any agricultural benefit beyond 25 years of operation is clearly flawed,” he said.
The business case also estimated the value of agricultural benefit purely on what it considered users would be prepared to pay for the water.
“A more appropriate approach is to look at what economic value and jobs (both direct and indirect) the additional agricultural production the dam supports could deliver,” Cr Manning said.
“It not only benefits the farmers and other users directly but also the businesses in our regional cities and towns that supply and support those users.”
The final nail in the coffin was the premise of a “full cost recovery” model, meaning the government would not put any money into the project – with all costs to be fully recovered from operators.
“Compare this to the approach for other items of economic enabling infrastructure such as roads where governments regularly invest significant funds without recovery from users,” Cr Manning said.
“Governments benefit indirectly from such projects through the additional economic value they generate, which ultimately results in additional tax revenue.
“It is truly the role of government to invest in nation building infrastructure projects such as Nullinga Dam to secure the long term prosperity of our future generations.”