Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Assistant Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I have spent a great deal of time in this place and in my electorate of Capricornia, talking about Rookwood Weir. This is a project very close to my heart because of the benefits it will bring to thousands of hardworking farmers, graziers and landowners in my electorate. I was thrilled to recently announce an extra $15 million of joint funding towards the construction of Rookwood Weir. This additional funding will allow the weir wall to be constructed approximately 0.7 metres higher, boosting the water capacity for this project by an additional 10,000 megalitres.

Whilst I do acknowledge the Queensland government for finally seeing sense and committing more money to this important project, I would like to remind other members in this place that I have been fighting tooth and nail to get Rookwood Weir restored to its original size. The shameful reality is that in 2019 the Queensland government decided to downgrade the total water capacity. This should never have happened, but it is typical of the state Labor government, who seem unable to grasp the concept of do it once, do it properly. They remain a government that do not understand farmers, do not understand graziers, and do not understand landowners. Above all else, the Queensland state government do not understand regional Australia. Whilst this is a small change to the total capacity of the weir, I do welcome any increase in water capacity for this important project.

Water, agriculture and industry are always on the mind of a coalition government. I recently spoke in Mackay at the opening of the Latitudes North conference. I said then and I will say now: a strong northern Australia is essential to our national economic growth, our prosperity, our security and our future as a nation. Water security is front and centre of our northern Australia agenda, as it is in my electorate of Capricornia. That brings me to Urannah dam, which has the capacity to transform the northern part of my electorate and revitalise the Whitsundays, Bowen and Collinsville regions. It will open up huge amounts of agricultural land, create more than 1,800 jobs, and see the construction of a large scale hydro power plant. It is crucial this project goes ahead. But Urannah does face some challenges. The extreme green activists are mobilising and, while this happens, the silence from the state Labor government is deafening. However, I will fight tooth and nail, just like I am with Rookwood Weir, to get Urannah dam done. The Morrison government have put forward $10 million in federal support for the feasibility study, and the ongoing campaign to make this project a reality continues. The Morrison-McCormack government are a safe pair of hands for regional Australia, not only because we care but because we deliver.

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