Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kennedy for his ongoing passion for water infrastructure in North Queensland and elsewhere in the nation. I share that vision and passion with him. I know that Deb Frecklington, the next premier of Queensland, does so too. She also shares that blueprint—that vision.

John Bradfield was an outstanding engineer, and we all know that: the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the electrification of rail projects and bridges, and of course he had that vision for water for our nation. Elements of that of course are part of the water infrastructure rollout that we are investing in right now. The North Queensland Water Infrastructure Authority is headed by Richard McLoughlin. I know that the member for Kennedy knows him well. It has responsibility, as does the government, of course, and as does the Queensland government, for the Hells Gates Dam scheme, including Big Rocks Weir, the Hughenden irrigation scheme and western Queensland irrigation and agricultural projects. I know the member for Kennedy is parochial for Charters Towers. There's a population of around 8,000, and he wants to see that population increase, as do I and as do members of the government.

For far too long our regional communities have had their population either decrease or remain steady. There's only one way we're going to increase those populations in those particular regional communities, and that is through building the right infrastructure, whether it's water or rail, to grow agriculture from a $60 billion enterprise to a $100 billion enterprise by 2030. I know the member for Kennedy shares that vision with the National Farmers' Federation, with the agriculture minister and with the government that sits on these benches.

The Australian government has committed $24 million from the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund to fully fund a detailed business case and environmental impact statement. The first major project milestone has been achieved, with the delivery of the final business case for Big Rocks Weir in August—that is, this month. The business case indicates the Big Rocks Weir will deliver strong benefits for the Charters Towers region and for Queensland.

We need water for agriculture and we need it for resources. They're going to be the two big sectors, along with infrastructure, that are going to help us out of COVID-19. Benefits include more than 200 construction and agriculture jobs, improved water security for Charters Towers and higher value irrigation opportunities for the region. I know, when it comes to Hughenden, Jane McNamara, the Mayor of Flinders, is right behind those projects.

Ms Butler interjecting—

Mr Fitzgibbon interjecting—

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