The same green activists who delayed the Carmichael mine for about a decade have now set their sights on Urannah Dam and they’re raising a war chest to attack a project that will create more than 1800 jobs, secure water supplies, provide hydro power and open up 20,000 hectares of prime agricultural land.

These green activists recently raised $20,000 over a few weeks and they will use that money to hire an ‘organiser’ to lead the attack on one of the most transformational projects this region has seen in decades.

These are the same activist groups who chain themselves to mine, rail and port equipment, block roads, block access to Mackay businesses and hold up peak-hour traffic in Brisbane.

One group is Frontline Action Against Coal – they’re really should change their name to ‘Frontline Action against all projects that create jobs and boost our economy’.

Then there’s the extremist Extinction Rebellion.

And Mackay Conservation Group is the group fundraising to hire a professional activist organiser.

While the local opposition to the project may be quite small, we know how this plays out.

They rally the professional extremists from across the state and across the country who then turn up in droves, break laws, and attack businesses who get work out of the project.

My colleague Michelle Landry and I are calling on the people of this region, the people of Mackay, Proserpine, Collinsville and Bowen, to get behind this project so that we can Build Urannah.

People can sign the petition to support Build Urannah at the website www.buildurannah.com and there are also links via my Facebook page.

The Urannah Dam project has the support of all levels of government; federal, state and local, and I’m pleased to say that many others are already getting behind it via our Build Urannah campaign.

Other statements of support for the project:

MEMBER FOR CAPRICORNIA & ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR NORTHERN AUSTRALIA MICHELLE LANDRY: “Urannah Dam is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to open up new areas of unexplored agricultural land and it stands to unlock long-term and sustainable irrigation for Queensland farmers, property owners and primary producers. Urannah Dam is expected to generate $323 million over 25 years in economic benefits, providing a major boost to local businesses in the area. We need to ‘Build Urannah’.”

MACKAY MAYOR GREG WILLIAMSON: “Understanding the need for the Urannah Dam, means understanding the need for water security. Water is critical to the stability of every country on earth. Water security means human survival. Not just quenching thirst but sustaining agriculture for our food production and delivering another way to produce energy through pumped hydro. Water security means economic stability – and that delivers growth. Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth. Urannah should have been built 100 years ago.”

WHITSUNDAY MAYOR ANDREW WILLCOX: “I have always said to make magic happen, you just add water, and this project will create employment magic with over 1000 jobs during construction and more than 600 permanent jobs when operational.
Urannah Dam will provide a fantastic boost for our agriculture and mining industries and be a real catalyst project for our region.”

MEMBER FOR BURDEKIN DALE LAST: “Having recently visited the dam site, I have seen the potential that this project offers for the region and the state. It really is a game changer that will support agricultural production, a secure water supply and the generation of hydroelectricity. The jobs that flow from the project will also be a great help for the region, especially as our economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

LNP CANDIDATE FOR WHITSUNDAY AMANDA CAMM: “This project not only delivers construction jobs; looking forward it will contribute to sustainable expansion of our underpinning industries of agriculture, resources and energy production. An initiative that offers this level of diversification is what makes the Urannah Dam a catalytic project for the Greater Whitsunday Region.”