Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to deliver a speech on behalf of my colleague the member for Herbert. She prepared this speech, but she is with her community, helping to prepare for Cyclone Debbie—and we wish her and her community all the best.

In the speech written by the member for Herbert, she says that Townsville is currently drought declared and the Ross River Dam is sitting at 17 per cent capacity. Since 16 November 2016 the Townsville City Council has been pumping water from the Burdekin Falls Dam at a cost of over $27,000 per day. Of the 130 megalitres pumped per day, 40 megalitres are lost through evaporation. Sadly, the Turnbull government is doing nothing to address this situation.

The member for Capricornia's motion seems to suggest that the Turnbull government is actually doing something about water, and the member for Herbert has said that is a joke not well received in the Townsville community. Yes, the Minister for Water Resources, Mr Joyce, is constantly spruiking his Hell's Gate Dam feasibility study, which is a follow-up to the first Hell's Gate feasibility study delivered by the then Treasurer Wayne Swan. It seems that Minister Joyce has just copied and pasted the member for Lilley's original funding, with no credit given to Labor. Every time Minister Joyce even mentions the words Hell's Gate Dam, there should be a footnote reference which reads, 'Originally derived by Treasurer Wayne Swan and Cathy O'Toole in 2013'—and the member for Herbert has also asked that I acknowledge that the member for Kennedy was part of the idea. Surely Minister Joyce should give credit where credit is due.

The member for Herbert is happy for Minister Joyce to keep copying Labor's ideas, but she asked him to copy her Burdekin Falls Dam idea. The Burdekin Falls Dam was delivered by the last member for Herbert, the Honourable Ted Lindsay, as a member of the then Hawke Labor government. It has only ever been Labor that has had the grunt and division to deliver water security in North Queensland, and the member for Herbert hopes to pick up from where her Labor predecessor, Ted Lindsay, left off over 20 years ago. The Burdekin Falls Dam was built in the late 1980s but the full vision was never completed. After 20 years of Liberal representation in the Herbert electorate, they are still waiting for the gravity fed pipeline directly from the dam, raising the wall of the Burdekin Falls Dam and eventually adding a hydro power plant.

The Turnbull government says it is apparently focused on addressing water and energy issues. Well, talk is cheap. The member for Herbert says, 'Put your money where your mouth is for North Queensland.' The Burdekin Falls. The Burdekin Falls Dam is five times the size of Sydney Harbour and plans for the full vision and completion have been around since 1977. Although imitation is the greatest form of flattery, the member for Herbert says, 'Trust me, Townsville does not need any more feasibility studies, Minister Joyce.' The member for Herbert needs the Turnbull government to start leveraging off one of the greatest water and energy resources in North Queensland, and that is the Burdekin Falls Dam. To not do so will foreshadow a huge loss of investment in the region and a loss of new industries and local jobs. Families in Townsville are already stressed, and enough is enough. Children are scared that they are going to run out of water. Small businesses like U Bute Turf are being pushed to the brink.

The Turnbull government's inaction is holding Townsville to ransom. There is absolutely no reason why Townsville should be facing a water crisis when access to water is actually the major problem. Just one hour's drive away is a great resource, the Burdekin Falls Dam. Procrastination by the Turnbull government leads to continued stress for the Townsville community. Adding insult to injury, this incompetent government is going out of its way to exclude Townsville from accessing funds from the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund. The tragedy is that Townsville, because of its city status, is excluded from accessing these funds. Drought is drought. It should not matter where you live, you should be able to depend on assistance from the government. Sadly, this is not the case with the Turnbull government.

The Deputy Prime Minister needs to cut the red tape and allow for a portion of the funds to include Townsville, especially if Townsville is to be a pivotal trade supply hub for North Queensland. The member for Capricornia's motion is to be seen in that light. Because Townsville is excluded from the National Water Infrastructure Fund, the Turnbull government will continue doing nothing for the north. It shows you how out of touch the government is with regional Queensland. So I am sorry, member for Capricornia, but your motion to commend the Australian government for recognising the potential of Australia by investing in water infrastructure is nothing but a joke, and Townsville is the punchline. And I assure her that the people of Townsville ain't laughing. And the member for Herbert will not allow motions like this to be moved without reminding people of that.

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