NQ food security requires water

THE federal government needs to restore funding to North Queensland water projects if it wants to deliver food security to the world, LNP Senator Susan Mcdonald says.

The Townsville-based Senator was commenting after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told world leaders at the G20 summit in Bali that our food exports could help avert global famine and ease food insecurity.

Senator Mcdonald said the government in its recent budget had cut funding previously allocated by the Morrison government for multiple water projects in Queensland.

This included funding to the Hells Gates, Urannah and Emu Swamp dams, irrigation projects in Hughenden and Richmond and to the Bowen pipeline.

Senator Mcdonald said funding had been redirected to the government’s water buyback scheme in the MurrayDarling Basin while North Queensland projects had been abandoned.

She said southern agricultural markets in Australia were highly developed and that the opportunity for growth in food production was in North Queensland.

“(Anthony Albanese) is painting a very wonderful picture about Australia’s ability to grow high quality food in a sustainable way … but in order to increase and secure this food production we need water infrastructure,” Senator Mcdonald said.

The Senators’ office says funding announced as part of the Coalition’s $2bn Regional Accelerator Program in April and repurposed by the Labor government includes:

$483 million towards the future construction of Urannah Dam;

$80 million towards the future construction of the Bowen pipeline;

$12.5 million towards a package of groundwater improvements in the Lower Burdekin;

$5.4 billion for Hells Gates Dam;

$180 million for Hughenden Irrigation Scheme; and

$7.3 million towards preparatory works for large-scale water diversion and storage at Richmond.