Federal election 2016: Turnbull set to splash $150 million on Queensland dams

PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull will splash $150 million on Queensland dams in a bid to massively boost investment in agriculture and drought-proof the state.

The Coalition is confident the new Rockhampton dam could be built within five years.

CENTRAL Queensland towns will never run out of water and the region’s farm output could double within five years under a Coalition plan to fast-track a new dam near Rockhampton.

Malcolm Turnbull will splash $150 million on Queensland dams, including a 50 per cent down-payment on Rookwood weir, in a bid to massively boost investment in agriculture and drought-proof the state.

The centrepiece of the announcement is a pledge to spend up to $130 million on building the central Queensland dam, contingent on the project getting the green light from a state business case and environmental approval.

WATER: Infrastructure needed to fuel agricultural boom

The dam is expected to create more than 2100 full-time jobs in farming. Queensland will also soak up half of a $60 million national fund for studies into new dams. A network of 14 proposed dams across the state will be earmarked for a combined $20 million to assess whether they should proceed.

The new list of priority dams takes in the length of the state from the Lakeland Irrigation Area, Southern Atherton Tablelands and Hell’s Gate Dam in the north to Emu Swamp Dam in the south.

Mr Turnbull said new water projects were needed to support an expansion in agriculture and help Australia’s economy rebound after the end of the mining boom.

“As the economy transitions and diversifies, agricultural exports are playing a more important role than ever before,” he said. “The Coalition is taking action by carrying out the most significant investment in infrastructure in Australian history, including an ambitious water reform agenda, so we can continue to build a strong national economy and create more jobs.”

Mr Turnbull arrived in Rockhampton last night and will announce the water plans today. He will also use his visit to the region to promote a $2.3 billion deal with the Singapore army to expand bases at Shoalwater Bay north of Rockhampton and in Townsville. An LNP source said the Singapore deal and the new dam would be a massive boost to their chances of holding the marginal seat of Capricornia.

The federal funding for Rockwood Weir will cover half the cost of the project and will need to be matched by money from the State Government or councils.

The dam had initially been slated for possible funding next year after economic and environmental studies had been completed but the Coalition is confident it will pass these assessments and could be built within five years.

Mr Turnbull’s earlier-than-expected commitment to build the dam is a win for ­Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and Northern Australia Minister Matt Canavan, who led a push for the project.

The Rockwood Weir funding comes from a $450 million pool set aside for investment in building dams and is on top of a $2 billion loans facility for water projects announced in the Budget.

Private investment in agricultural development will be $4 for every $1 government invests in construction, modelling suggests.

A doubling of agricultural output once the dam is built would inject $1 billion a year into the region and could see Rockhampton become the “grain capital” as well as the “beef capital” of the country.

“This is exactly what central Queensland needs. The mining downturn has hit us harder than anyone thought and we need to look at other industries,” Senator Canavan told The Courier-Mail.

Northern Australia Minister Matt Canavan led a push for the project. Picture: Evan Morgan

The project would also “give people the confidence to invest in Gladstone” and “drought-proof the towns of central Queensland”, the Minister said.

Securing a generous share of federal funding and loans to build dams and develop irrigation systems in Queensland was a key feature of the action plan developed by The Courier-Mail’s #goqld campaign.