#GoQld: Rookwood Weir to bring $1 billion agricultural boom

A RIBBON of water stretching 60km across the often dusty plains of this Queensland region is a dream about to come true for farmers - and will provide an agricultural boom worth about $1 billion.

A RIBBON of water stretching 60km across the often dusty plains of central Queensland is a dream about to come true for a legendary Australian who has devoted much of his life to Australian agriculture.

Larry Acton, whose drive created the broadacre lobby group AgForce by amalgamating the Queensland Grain Growers Association, Cattlemen’s Union and United Graziers Association, can’t wait for bull­dozers to start at Rookwood Weir on the Fitzroy River, west of Rockhampton.

Mr Acton won’t gain much financially with his property Riverton, which runs a commercial herd of Braford cattle, disadvantaged for at least a year by the presence of work crews.

Larry Acton at the site of the proposed Rookwood Weir west of Rockhampton. Picture: Peter Wallis

But he, with thousands of primary producers who have been calling for a return of the state’s dam-building culture, will deal with the inconvenience in return for seeing Queensland’s farm sector developed.

Mr Acton said the state’s wealth was built on projects such as Eungella Dam, which fuelled the mining boom in the Mackay hinterland, and Fairbairn Dam near Emerald, which spark-ed hundreds of millions of dollars of agricultural development.

The Rookwood Weir, with a $130 million commitment from the Federal Government expected to be backed by a similar commitment from the State Government, will provide water for an agricultural boom which the Commonwealth believes will be worth about $1 billion to the Rockhampton region.

To Mr Acton, the real money will be made in the hinterland, as the softwood scrub and brigalow country which covers a mixture of rich dark and red soils gives way to farms producing anything from grapes and peanuts to lychees and citrus, all fed with water from Rookwood weir.

“People have no idea what can be grown out here if we have the water,” he said.

“It’s extraordinary what can happen if you think about it – even if the water stretches back just 50km, that means up to 100km of farms on either side of the river all producing food.”

Senator Matt Canavan, a local and a driving force behind the Federal Coalition’s pro-dam policy, visited the weir site with Mr Acton last month. He says Australia has to reinvigorate the building ethos which fuelled projects such as the Snowy Mountain Scheme.

LNP Senator Matt Canavan with Larry Acton. Picture: Peter Wallis

“There are often quite good environmental objections to dam projects … but many can now be addressed with sensible measures that protect the environment and still allow our agricultural sector to expand,” Senator Canavan said.

The local council, with ownership of the city’s airport boasting a 2.6km runway which can land some of the world’s largest aircraft, is also making a bold bid to establish an airport in the Galilee Basin.

The push is part of the council’s intensive lobbying efforts to secure Rockhampton as a FIFO hub for the proposed Adani Carmichael coal mine west of Bowen.

Mayor Margaret Strelow said no other city could offer mining companies what Rockhampton would in the Galilee Basin.

“That is, end-to-end control of costs and scheduling, and the opportunity for workers to live in a city with the lifestyle, health and schooling benefits without rival,” Cr Strelow said.

The city’s other focus is leveraging economic benefit from a $1 billion agreement with the Singapore military to train thousands more soldiers at Shoalwater Bay.

Cr Strelow said there were “green shoots” appearing after “a difficult time”.

“The turning point for us was a community recognition that the cavalry was not coming and we have to shape our own future.”

Ashley Page, chief executive of finance consultants AEC Group, said: “Rockhampton has a traditionally conservative and very stable economy that noticed rather than experienced the GFC.

“Unemployment is relatively high … but there are many opportunities for Rockhampton to leverage the strong agricultural assets and infrastructure it has.”