Dams are damned under Labor

AUGUST 9, 2018: JOBS, water security and economic growth in central and northern Queensland will all be under threat under a Labor government, with their Federal agriculture spokesperson claiming they don’t work and cause environmental issues.In contrast, the Liberal National Government had committed more than $186 million to creating jobs and providing water security through a range of projects across the region under the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund.Which means we can forget Urannah Dam, the raising of the Burdekin Dam wall, Hell’s Gate Dam and Rookwood Weir under Labor.So that means no water for farmers for security and future expansion, no water for new mines which pour billions into the state’s coffers, no water to secure urban water supplies and of course no jobs from not only the construction of dams but also from the economic boost they provide.Labor’s agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon made in clear during a Sky News interview that his party will not support the construction of dams when he stated that ‘they’re a 19th century solution to a 21st century problem’ and were ‘just dumbed-down populism’. He went on to claim that dams caused environmental issues, were too expensive and took too long to build.“The common sense of building dams to secure our water supply and grow the economy of central and north Queensland has escaped Labor,” Mr Christensen said.“It’s predictable that they must support their Greens bedfellows.“What this government is doing is taking action to open up vast tracts of agricultural land and improve water efficiencies for this region.”Water project planning under way includes:

• $3 million for Urannah Dam to open up agricultural land in the Bowen and Burdekin regions, and provide additional water for mines in the Bowen and Galilee Basins
• $2.2 million for a new dam at Hell’s Gate on the Upper Burdekin River to open up agricultural land and potentially provide water security for Townsville
• $400,000 on the raising of the Burdekin Dam Wall which could secure urban supply and provide additional water for mines
• $1.9 million for the Burdekin Haughton Channel Capacity Upgrade to provide more water in the Burdekin
• $225,000 to rectify problems with Clermont’s water supply
• $176 million to build Rookwood Weir which will increase water security for Rockhampton and Gladstone and provide more water for agricultural and industrial use