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Regional Queensland Ripped off by the South

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Record mining and agriculture booms from Central Queensland prop up government budgets in Brisbane and Canberra. Yet those same governments rip critical infrastructure funding for dams, roads and power stations out of regional queensland. The rip-off has been going on too long and must stop, regional Queensland deserves its fair share.

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Media Release: Hells Gates Dam Business Case To Be Revealed After One Nation Motion

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The Senate has voted in favour of a Malcolm Roberts motion this afternoon calling on the government to release a business case prepared for the Government by Townsville Enterprise Development Centre. Senator Roberts said:

“One Nation has scored a win for North Queensland with the Senate ordering the government to publish its confidential business case behind Hells Gate Dam.”

“The business case was given to the State Government in July and passed on to the Federal Government in September. The Albanese Government wants to keep the Hells Gate Dam business case a secret because they don’t want to build any dams in this country.”

“This business case will be especially embarrassing because the Labor Budget delivered last night removed $5.4 billion dollars previously allocated for the dam.”

“We need water for Queensland to thrive. This dam and many others should have been started decades ago so we can capture the La Nina rains which are currently swelling rivers before flowing straight out to sea.”

Only Labor voted against the motion in an attempt to keep the Hells Gate Dam business case secret however One Nation was successful by 40 votes to 19. The government must table the business case in the Senate no later than 9:30am tomorrow, 27 October 2022.

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Inland Rail is off track

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Yesterday I attended a hearing into the Inland Rail project. The massively expensive project will see up to 40 heavy freight trains a day travel through southern Queensland to Acacia Ridge. (20 into Brisbane and 20 out)

Inland Rail uses passenger lines through south west Brisbane that local residents were promised would never be upgraded to heavy freight. That promise, by Labor Premier Beattie has now been broken by Premier Palaszczuk.

It is telling that neither Premier Palaszczuk nor any of her administration had the courage to front the inquiry to respond to the criticism of the route her Government is promoting.

The Mayor of Logan City Darren Power testified that within 20 years more than 50,000 residents would live with 1km of the train line, putting up with noise and vibration from 1.8km long heavy freight trains 24 hours a day.

The current plan is to terminate the line at Acacia Ridge, and not upgrade the rail link to Brisbane Port until 2040. This stupid idea will put hundreds of additional A double heavy freight trucks and related traffic onto local roads that can’t handle the traffic they have now.

Inland Rail’s preferred alignment also goes across the Condamine floodplain near Millmerran. Building a 2m railway embankment across a major floodplain is a really bad idea. The small culverts being built into the embankment will quickly block during heavy rain and flood out thousands of local residents and businesses.

The much better route through Warwick, along mostly existing freight rail lines was not seriously considered by the ARTC, this is a poor decision.

The budget for Inland Rail now stands at $20 billion and will go much higher. At this cost Inland Rail will never pay for itself. Our investigations into this and listening are going to continue. The more I hear, the more concerned I am about this project.

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Fast track the hybrid Bradfield scheme

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This afternoon Pauline ask Senator Cash whether the Prime Minister would fast track the hybrid Bradfield scheme, a nation-building project to help improve Queensland’s productive capacity.

While the government has committed to $72 billion in major infrastructure projects across the country, there is still no sign of the Hybrid Bradfield scheme.

Transcript

[Announcer]

Senator Hanson.

[Senator Hanson}

Thank you very much. My question is to the Minister Cash, representing the Minister for Infrastructure. On the 13th of November, 2019, the majority of coalition senators supported a notice of motion that the senate, and I quote, call on the federal government to take the necessary steps to ensure the construction of a Bradfield-type scheme can begin in Queensland as swiftly as possible.

Speaking to this motion, the government stated, and again I quote, there is no reason for the Australian government to oppose this motion. Today the prime minister announced plans to fast-track a number of infrastructure projects, yet despite the government’s plain support, there was no mention of any form of Bradfield scheme.

Why has the government chosen to leave the hybrid or new Bradfield scheme, a crucial, nation-building project they have expressed their support for, off the prime minister’s list of essential projects to be fast-tracked?

[Announcer]

The minister representing the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Senator Cash.

[Senator Cash]

Thank you, Mr President and I thank Senator Hanson for her question and in particular for acknowledging the significant announcement that the prime minister made today, as I alluded to in my previous question from Senator Antic, and the bringing forward of infrastructure projects across Australia to create around 66,000 jobs. In relation to the Bradfield scheme, I can provide you with the following information: the national water grid authority, which as you have referred to commenced operation on the 1st of October, 2019, is working with leading science agencies including the CSIRO to determine where and how water resources can be sustainably developed. This forms part of the Australian government’s commitment to invest $100 million into bringing world-best science together to identify opportunities for enhancing water supply and reliability for regional Australia. As part of this work, the authority is considering options for developing large-scale water harvesting and transfer schemes such as elements of the Bradfield scheme or hybrid versions of the Bradfield scheme to capture and transport water to both grow agricultural sector and improve drought resilience. Over the decade since it was first proposed, there have been a number of assessments on the merit of the original Bradfield scheme and more recent variations. It is important that the feasibility of these schemes are now investigated using the best available contemporary science.

[Announcer]

Senator Hanson, a supplementary question.

[Senator Hanson]

Thank you. Minister, there has been a feasibility study done on it by the Snowy Mountain Engineering Corp in 2018. Water security is crucial to all Australians especially given the horrendous drought that more than 60% of Queensland continues to endure. Why can’t the government simply give the people of Australia a firm commitment that the hybrid Bradfield scheme will be added to the prime minister’s list of projects that will be fast-tracked?

[Announcer]

Senator Cash.

[Senator Cash]

Well, thank you, Mr. President, and I would refer Senator Hanson to the answer I just gave to my previous question and my understanding is the prime minister announced certain projects today and said there’d be further announcements to come.

[Announcer]

Senator Hanson, a final supplementary question.

[Senator Hanson]

I appreciate that and I appreciate the water schemes that actually have been put in with the dams but there has been no real commitment to the hybrid Bradfield scheme which will actually bring water from going out to the ocean inland. So therefore I say to the minister, the government has been very critical of Queensland’s Labor’s failure to give a clear date on border openings, is it safe to say that because you won’t commit to a date to start this project, that the Liberal National Party have no plans to build the Bradfield scheme?

[Announcer]

Senator Cash.

[Senator Cash]

Thank you, Mr. President, and Senator Hanson I will have to reject the premise of your question, and as I said in my answer to your primary question, over the decade since it was first proposed, there have been a number of assessments on the merits of the original Bradfield scheme and more recent variations. It is important that the feasibility of these schemes are now investigated using the best available contemporary science.

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COVID-19 Stimulus Package must include water

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The Federal Government’s COVID-19 stimulus packages must address how Australia can be more self-reliant in food production, and calls for a guarantee of water for farmers to plant essential crops this month.

Senator Roberts said, “COVID-19 has changed our world forever as nations like Vietnam ban exporting their home-grown rice to us, and now more than ever, we need government to prioritise food production in Australia because our basic food security is threatened.”

“Nations are now prudently keeping their own food for themselves while stupid government policies mean we are dependent on the importation of food staples that we can grow here in Australia.”

While recent rains across the Murray Darling Basin have been welcomed, farmers need the certainty of a water allocation during the season to have the confidence to plant crops.

“When harvested, not only would this winter crop create a regional monetary stimulus but would also protect us from new food shortages caused by countries’ COVID-19 export restrictions,” stated Senator Roberts.

Absurdly, Australia already relies on importing cereals like wheat and rice and now COVID-19 trade restrictions means even durum wheat used for pasta has become impossible to source.

“It is in Australia’s national interest to prioritise water to farmers to improve our farming productive capacity, that has been damaged by successive Liberal and Labor governments who have given our competitive advantage away to overseas,” added Senator Roberts.

Queensland, New South Wales and Victorian farmers have received zero general security water allocations for irrigation in the last 3 years. The Murray Darling Basin Authority has chosen instead to water forests unnecessarily and send irrigation water out to sea in South Australia.

“I call on our Governments to guarantee the release of 1000gl of water for irrigation, to give our farmers confidence to plant a full winter cereal crop.” “The COVID-19 crisis has given yet another reason to reset the Murray Darling Basin plan, with a focus on sensible environmental practices and on growing and protecting the productive capacity of regional Australia,” declared Senator Roberts.

200404-COVID-19-Stimulus-Package-must-include-water-for-farmers

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