Woes flow after Hells Gates pledge

Cairns Mayor Bob Manning says his city is being left high and dry after this week's multi-billion dollar water funding announcement for North Queensland. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pledged $5.4 billion in water funding for the Hells Gate Dam. Meanwhile Cairns Regional Council is pushing a $215 million plan to tap into the Mulgrave River to meet the city’s water needs as a matter of top priority. It is seeking State and Federal backing for the Cairns Water Security – Stage 1 project to address increased demand, which is projected to exceed existing capacity by 2026. Cr Manning said the Hells Gates Dam investment mades the $215 million Cairns was seeking seem like a drop in the ocean. "Why are we being left high and dry when our water security issue is well known, our solution is well developed and widely supported, and our ask is a fraction of what's been committed elsewhere?" he said. "When you add up the recent State and Federal commitments made for water projects in other regions it comes in at over $8 billion. “Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, and Wide Bay-Burnett – they're all being showered with water funding, but nothing for us.” Cr Manning said the council did not begrudge funding for water infrastructure in other regions, but reinforced that Cairns deserved its fair share. Related: Council seeks business backing on water plea Burdekin Shire Mayor Lyn McLaughlin has also raised concerns about the funding commitment for Hells Gates Dam, and the cumulative impacts on her region of a raft of major water projects in the infrastructure pipeline. The Hells Gates funding commitment had been made prior to environmental impact assessments and business cases being completed, she said. Burdekin Shire Mayor Lyn McLaughlin. “Currently, there are business cases underway for Big Rocks Weir, Urannah Dam and Hells Gate Dam, as well as the raising of the Burdekin Falls Dam itself – if all projects are approved, what impact will this have on the Lower Burdekin?" she said. “Burdekin Shire Council has expressed its concern through Environmental Impact Studies (EIS) for all three dams upstream of the Lower Burdekin – our concern is not about any specific dam, rather the cumulative impact of all three being constructed. “Although the Burdekin is a small Shire, we are important, our community is important, and I question if our interests have been properly considered." Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has slammed the Federal Coalition for 'backing the wrong horse' on the Hells Gates Dam project. He said that unless the dam was built to a height of 395m, as opposed to a significantly smaller project announced this week, he would flex his powers, clear his voice and ready himself for the biggest fight of political career. “This country has had a dream of taking the giant floodwaters that wreck the coast each year, taking a tiny little part of those floodwaters, and turning them onto the Western Plains to supplement the massive floodwaters of the Flinders River and produce about $20 billion a year of production," he said. “What the PM is talking about will be flat out producing $200 million. “A dam to 395m would provide all of North Queensland’s electricity – clean, green, with no C02 emissions, the entire base load will be carried from the Upper Burdekin Irrigation Scheme (UBurIS) which has always been what everyone has agreed to. “The person responsible for this 'announced' project did not consult to anyone even remotely associated with the Revised Bradfield Scheme."

Woes flow after Hells Gates pledge

Industry Queensland

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