Region’s dam backlash

FNQ leaders dispute Nullinga study verdict

A LEAGUE of the region’s most influential organisations is banding together to demand action on Nullinga Dam after the State Government reduced the project’s prospects to a puddle of negativity.

Confidential documents seen by the Cairns Post show Cairns Regional Council and Mareeba Shire Council are rallying the troops to sign a series of letters to key politicians urging for leadership on water security in the Far North.

The group includes the likes of MSF Sugar, Advance Cairns, Canegrowers, FNQ Milling, Enterprise North and Tourism Tropical North Queensland.

RDA Far North Queensland and Torres Strait, Mareeba District Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and the Far North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils are also in the mix.

The email includes draft letters to Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington and Natural Resources Minister Anthony Lynham outlining serious concerns with the business case used to deem the project too expensive to carry out.

“The business case adopts a 30-year appraisal period (from construction completion),” the draft letters state.

“This results in only 25 years’ worth of agricultural benefits being included in the business case analysis.

“Dams are long term infrastructure projects that deliver multi-generational benefits.

“Tinaroo Dam, for example, was constructed over 60 years ago, has delivered significant benefits since construction and is expected to contribute further and growing benefits for decades to come.”

The letter also raises issues with the stated exorbitant cost of the project, which ballooned from $323 million in the preliminary business case to between $506 million and $774 million in the final product.

“Given the scale of this increase (between 56 per cent and 140 per cent on the preliminary business case) a peer review of the capital cost calculations is warranted to ensure their appropriateness,” it states.