Paradise Damned: No compo for shoddy building as project blows out beyond $1.2bn

The state has hit a dead end in seeking compensation for the construction of a major dam in Queensland’s largest food-producing region despite it being deemed one of the most poorly built in the world.

A major dam rebuild in Queensland’s largest food-producing region is set to cost more than $1.2bn, with Premier Steven Miles confirming the state can’t claw back cash from the original builders for shoddy construction.

The true cost of the Paradise Dam rebuild will not be known until at least the end of 2025, but Sunwater chief executive Glenn Stockton confirmed he expected the project to surpass the $1.2bn currently budgeted by the state and federal government.

Premier Steven Miles, in Bundaberg this week to shore up the government’s most marginal electorate, said the state will “address those (cost) escalations” when they arrive.

And taxpayers will be on the hook, with Mr Miles confirming the state government has hit a dead end to seek compensation for the flawed construction of the dam deemed one of the most poorly built in the world.

Paradise Dam, on the Burnett River, supplies water to Bundaberg’s agriculture sector - the main supplier of sweet potatoes in Australia and a major producer of avocados, macadamias, and strawberries.

Paradise Dam had been found to be “intrinsically incapable” of meeting design standards.

The dam was completed in 2005 after just two years of construction by the “Burnett Dam Alliance” partnership which included Burnett Water Pty Ltd and Hydro Tasmania. Paradise Dam’s wall was lowered in 2020 amid structural integrity concerns.

A major inquiry that year deemed the dam “intrinsically incapable” of meeting design standards. The government in January 2024 revealed it would need to build a whole new wall instead of fixing the existing structure.

Mr Miles confirmed the state had sought legal advice but had been told the entities who could be culpable are “no longer in a legal state that we could seek compensation from them”.

“It’s very disappointing. This is just a travesty. This dam should not have been built the way it was built,” he said.

“The advice from engineers to us is that there is no similar example anywhere in the world of a dam being built the way this one has, and I would prefer to have been able to pursue those responsible for building it in such a terrible way.”

Mr Stockton confirmed the project would cost more than $1.2bn, and said the detailed business case integral to advancing the new wall would be ready at the end of 2025.

He said it would be presented to government in 2026.

Growers are increasingly concerned the state government is not approaching the project with enough urgency, with Mr Miles peppered with questions by residents about water security during a community town hall in Bundaberg on Wednesday night.

Water Minister Glenn Butcher said the project was “very complex” and needed time to be delivered properly and safely.