Senator Barnaby Joyce said today he has always been a supporter of the Bradfield Scheme for the inland diversion of water.

“Other Bradfield ideas, such as that to build a bridge from roughly Milsons Point to the other side of Sydney Harbour in the 1930’s, seemed over the top but now the Sydney Harbour Bridge is a national icon. Likewise the Storey Bridge in Brisbane, from Kangaroo Point to other side of the river, appeared highly extravagant for what, at the time, was a large country town.

“However, potentially the most wealth producing idea for the nation was the Bradfield Inland Water Scheme which was apparently too difficult to build.

“The problem with the Murray Darling Basin is it’s lacking the correct quantity of fundamental material and that fundamental material is water.

“I would have to support the idea to supplement the system with more reliable water from a large new source because of the wealth it would generate along its reaches. Other key business people in Australia, such as Mr Pratt, have supported the idea in the past.

“What I do call into question is whether Mr Beattie is fair dinkum about this or whether he is creating political mischief.

“He’s had plenty of time in the past to push this agenda. He seems only to have become enthusiastic about it since the Prime Minister announced the Coalition’s water package.

“If Mr Beattie is serious about it, let’s see engineering studies, money, and the willingness to work in an effective, long term bipartisan manner with the Federal Government in order to see this project come to fruition.

“In the end we only have 2 choices: we either move a reliable, large water source to where the people are (and that’s not Traveston Dam, by the way) or we start encouraging people to move to where the water is by offering incentive packages such as zonal taxation.

“I suggest we use both options.

“It would be highly disappointing to get people’s hopes up that you’re about to do something substantial and nation building, only for them to find out later it was no more than a political stunt.

“I’m quite happy to put parochial politics behind if he really does want to create a nation building project but he has to go a lot further than just his current general discussion piece.

“Mr Beattie has yet to produce any engineering studies, environmental impact studies, budgetary allocations or other planning statements of intent so it seems to indicate it was something he thought of last night.

“By comparison, the Traveston Dam would be a huge waste of money with no effect; the Bradfield Scheme would be a huge investment with a huge return.

“I’m quite happy to support something that is practical, which delivers something for Queensland and delivers something for our nation, from the top of the Murray Darling to Adelaide.” Senator Joyce said.