The Coalition Dams and Water Management Task Group visits southern and central Queensland from Wednesday to Friday this week. The Task Group will be meeting with people in Brisbane, Toowoomba and Rockhampton to discuss investment in Wivenhoe Dam, Emu Creek Dam (near Toowoomba), Barackdale choke (near Surat), Nathan Dam, Connors Rivers Dam, Rookwood weir and Eden-Ban weir, among other sites.
The Deputy Chair of the Task Group, Barnaby Joyce said that "While the tax forum descends into a meaningless talkfest, the Coalition is continuing the work to deliver policy of real meaning to the Australian people, to deliver a new prospect of regional development and wealth to our state and our nation.
"This brings into clear political focus the difference. One is a summit, … sorry forum, the headlines of which seem to be about the things they are not going to discuss, not what they are, and the results of which seem to be the taxes they are going to hike not scrap. While the Coalition is in the field dealing with real issues that will provide real outcomes that can truly develop new areas of our economy and make it bigger and stronger and more resilient."
Chair of the Coalition’s Dams and Water Management Task Group Andrew Robb said there was a significant place for economically viable new water infrastructure in Queensland.
“Proposals such as the Nathan Dam on the Dawson River and Connors River Dam and pipeline, for example, are of great importance for the state’s coal industry,” Mr Robb said.
“Dams such as these can have multiple purposes including providing reliable water for coal washing, agriculture and general consumption and in other instances hydro-electricity can be in the mix. The right projects can attract strong interest from private sector investors and reduce or eliminate the need for government funding.
“In many cases all that’s needed is the political will to provide certainty in the form of a pipeline of strong projects that will not be stifled by overly onerous regulatory requirements.
“We are looking at a number of possible dam sites across southern Queensland during our visit and will be meeting with key people to get a feel for where the opportunities lie and how the Coalition can support their advancement,” Mr Robb said.
The southern and central Queensland visit follows on from the Task Group’s visit to northern Queensland in May.
Tony Abbott established the Coalition's dams group in January with the remit to look at options for investment in new or expanded dams throughout Australia. The task group is made up of Andrew Robb (Chairman), Barnaby Joyce (Deputy Chairman), Greg Hunt, Simon Birmingham, Bill Heffernan and Ian Macdonald.
The Task Group has received 50 submissions and over 50 options for investment in new or expanded dams have been suggested to it already.