Water high on election agenda LNP vows $ 10m for dam plan
THE Queensland Opposition has committed funds for design work and an environmental study to raise the Burdekin Falls Dam and deliver water and energy security for Townsville.
The Bulletin can reveal the LNP will today announce that if elected at the October 2020 state election they will contribute $ 10 million towards an environmental impact statement and complete the design work for the dam project.
Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said she was not going to wait for a “water crisis” before taking action to secure a water supply for regional Queensland.
“Ensuring North Queensland has water security is so critical that I’m committing the LNP to progressing the Burdekin Falls project more than two years out from the next election,” she said.
“I want to raise the dam because water means jobs and job security for this region.
“Annastacia Palaszczuk hasn’t lifted a finger to get this project off the ground, but if I were Premier it would be a priority.”
Ms Frecklington said the LNP would not “sell out” North Queensland for city votes.
“A future LNP government would invest in North Queensland infrastructure as a priority.”
However, the State Government’s infrastructure agency Building Queensland is already assessing a proposal to raise the capacity of the dam by 150,000 megalitres to over two million.
Ms Palaszczuk last year visited Townsville to spruik the State Government’s water security plan and called on the Federal Government to support the development of a Burdekin hydro business case to complement the strategic assessment under way.
“This project is critical for the development of Northern Australia,” she said. “The hydro- electric potential in the Burdekin has been talked about since the 1940s.”
A hydro- electric power station is expected to cost more than $ 200 million and create over 150 jobs.
The State Government aims to generate half of Queensland’s energy from renewable sources by 2030.
But LNP Burdekin MP Dale Last said the dam- raising plan wasn’t being prioritised.
“The only people who don’t support this project are Labor. They haven’t built a dam in the regions for 13 years and they’ll never raise the Burdekin Falls Dam either.”