Keith Pitt (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to put on the record my concerns about the debacle that is the Bundaberg East flood levee. I wrote to the then Minister representing the Minister for Emergency Management in November 2023 asking exactly how much money would be committed to the project from the federal government. It is $57 million from them, $57 million from Queensland and $60 million from something called 'DRFA efficiencies'—I don't know what that means, but I'll assume it means cuts by the then Queensland Labor state government—for a total project cost of almost $175 million.

My concerns with the project have been on the record for a long time, and they remain. The most current engineering proposal suggests that there will be multiple 365-kilowatt pumps to lift the water over the wall. It will be for around a one-in-100-year flood. It will still be wet on the inside of the wall because the pumps simply can't be big enough to get all of the water out. There will be an impact on the people of North Bundaberg and elsewhere. To my great surprise the minister responded by saying there will be no housing resumed as part of the levee project. I'm sure that will be great news for those individuals who have houses and businesses on the west side of the proposed wall. I'm not quite sure how that works.

I want to congratulate Mayor Helen Blackburn. Mayor Blackburn and her council have said that the Bundaberg Regional Council will not be utilising ratepayer money to maintain this proposed levee. That will have to come from somewhere else. I think that is a very wise decision. There were 5,000 residents who signed a petition calling for this project to be reviewed, and I would urge the new Crisafulli government to listen to the community, talk to the engineers and look at whether this is actually a viable option. The figure of $175 million is actually more than we committed to the Hinkler regional deal. The people of this region will get a wall which will protect a number of houses, potentially, assuming that it works and the sluice gate closes and there aren't problems and you can get diesel generators big enough to start 365-kilowatt pumps. The priority, in my view, has always been an escape route for the people of North Bundaberg. I think that should continue to be the priority. There are options to fund that.

I just want to move to a different matter, and that is to congratulate one of my EA staff, Paula Harberger, who has advised that she will be resigning to move across to the new successful state candidate for the LNP who won the seat of Hervey Bay. Congratulations to Paula. She will be the office manager there, I would assume.

She is a great local with lots of local knowledge and a very detailed understanding of how state governments work. This is a great pick-up for David Lee, the new member for Hervey Bay, and I congratulate them both.

I want to place on the record my thanks and appreciation to Paula for all of the hard work that she did for the people of Hervey Bay while working in my office down at the bay on Torquay Road. We all live and die by our staff, and I have some of the best. It's unfortunate to lose one, but I congratulate her on her promotion.