Editor’s view: History repeats with multibillion-dollar Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro project

Queenslanders have a right to know how their money is being spent on what is likely to become the state’s most expensive project in history, writes the editor.

The Miles government needs to understand money is real – and its cavalier approach to spending it is becoming a huge problem.

On one hand, it touts itself as a government that is a great and responsible economic manager.

On the other, it throws out $2.5bn on unprecedented $1000 energy rebates in a move economists warn could be inflationary and is essentially a Band-Aid fix.

And now we learn it has already spent $111m on a project that in all likelihood is doomed to fail because it ploughs through a world-famous platypus habitat and the locals are fighting it tooth and nail after barely being consulted.

Premier Stephen Miles travelled to Eungella on April 2 to meet the community over the controversial Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro project. Picture: Fergus Gregg

The state government confirmed $111m had been splashed buying up properties and conducting studies on the controversial Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro project, but the split of that not-insubstantial sum will not be divulged.

There are claims the government is offering increased prices for property – in some cases up to 50 per cent above market value.

To be clear, this project not only has not been approved, it has no business case.

It’s incredibly divisive, in no small part due to the fact it’s going to bulldoze one of the world’s most pristine platypus habitats.

And as The Courier-Mail revealed last month, it could end up costing taxpayers as much as $18bn – up from the initial estimate of $12bn.

The proposed site of the Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro project. Picture: Queensland Hydro Facebook

The government is pushing ahead as if it has been approved – snapping up properties at inflated prices – and with your money.

It’s like buying the curtains for a house you really like that isn’t even on the market on the off-chance the buyers may sell.

There is a place for renewables in Queensland, but there must be an effort to think of the local communities, businesses and wildlife.

It’s madness to start resuming properties now.

This project – if it gets off the ground at all – is many years away.

Queenslanders have a right to know how money is being spent on what is likely to become the state’s most expensive project in history.

Just last month, Premier Steven Miles was met with a fiery reception in Eungella, where he apologised to residents for how the project had been communicated to date.

Energy Minister Mick de Brenni did not answer The Courier-Mail’s questions about whether the government was offering increased prices for property. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

An excellent way to remedy that situation would be to detail where the $111m spent on the project most recently has gone.

Energy Minister Mick de Brenni did not answer The Courier-Mail’s questions about whether the government was offering increased prices for property.

He would also not say how much of the $111m had been spent on buying homes.

Instead, a spin doctor said: “The Miles government has spent more than $111m on the project to date, including for geotechnical and environmental field studies,
front-end engineering and design, stakeholder engagement services and where requested by the landholder, land acquisitions.”

Anti-dam campaigners in the Mary River who opposed the proposed Traveston Dam.

The government’s refusal to detail exactly how much has been spent so far on acquiring properties will give many Queenslanders a sinking feeling that this project has the potential to go the way of Traveston Dam.

The Labor government at the time bought 478 properties in the Mary Valley, at a cost of $445m, to make way for the dam.

Again, there was barely any community consultation, and the locals fought it every step of the way.

Premier Stephen Miles in Eungella on April 2 to meet with the community on the pumped hydro project. Picture: Fergus Gregg

It was scuttled when the federal government refused environmental approval in 2009 – on the grounds of “threatened species and communities” – after being a thorn in the sides of both former premiers Peter Beattie and Anna Bligh.

And it seems, history may be repeating itself with the Pioneer-Burdekin project.

Doing their bit for state

Anyone who has been a member of a sporting club knows the enormous value of volunteers and how hard they are to replace when a key figure of a club decides they can’t contribute anymore.

Today, we reveal that the number of people who volunteer to organisations has fallen by 20 per cent in just three years, with our ageing workforce partly to blame.

Volunteer numbers in other categories have also fallen.

About 64 per cent of Queenslanders aged 15 and over volunteered between July 2022 and July 2023, giving up a combined 719 million hours and delivering $117.8bn in benefits. Respondents to the Volunteering Queensland survey detailed how the actual cost of volunteering itself was a considerable drawback, with it costing $15.57 an hour to donate your time.

The LNP has promised a parliamentary inquiry into the impediments to volunteering if it wins the October election.

We hope that the drop does not reflect a loss of community spirit.

We would also suggest that to anyone who has the time and energy to volunteer their time to an organisation you are passionate about, give it a go. You won’t regret it.

Originally published as Editor’s view: History repeats with multibillion-dollar Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro project