Bob Katter threatens to switch from Coalition to Labor as Hells Gate Dam pledge falls short

A furious Bob Katter is threatening to switch support to Labor after the Coalition’s $5.6bn mega dam proposal failed to deliver on what he was promised.

Key crossbencher Bob Katter is threatening to switch support from the Coalition to Labor in the event of a hung parliament, arguing the $5.6 billion Hells Gate dam proposal is not what he was promised, even though it would be the largest dam in the state.

Federal Labor is yet to commit to matching the funding if it wins the May election, but indicated it was open to it if backed by a business case and departmental advice.

Hells Gate Dam would hold 2100 gigalitres of water, help irrigate 60,000ha of land and create 10,000 jobs, with a business case expected to be completed in June.

Kennedy MP Bob Katter. Picture: Brendan Radke

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick said the state would support it if it stacked up.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison drew battlelines over water and jobs, saying his government would fully fund the dam but a “vote for Federal Labor is a vote against the Hells Gate dam”.

“All the State Government has to do is get out the big stamp and go approved. That’s all they have to do,” he said.

He denied the project was about wooing Mr Katter, who has long been a proponent for the project. “I love Bob, but it’s not about Bob”.

But Mr Katter said he was furious that the announcement fell short of what he demanded when last in the balance of power – for two weeks in November 2018 when he secured a $50 million study into the dam.

He said he would risk his own seat to target the Morrison Government unless it changed its position to see its capacity doubled.

“I will have to reassess my position. I’ve got a phone call booked to (manager of Opposition business) Tony Burke,” Mr Katter said.

“Last time I took a position against the Liberal party I paid a very heavy price for it.”

The Burdekin River where it flows into the proposed Hells Gate Dam site. Picture: Matt Taylor

Opposition water and environment spokeswoman Terri Butler said Labor was open to water projects and would consider any proposal on merit after seeing the business case and departmental advice.

“Scott Morrison has no credibility when it comes to dams. This is just another announcement,” Ms Butler said.

Treasurer Cameron Dick said the state government would support any project if it stacked up and that he looked forward to seeing the money in next week’s federal budget.

“We will put it through the approval process if it stacks up,” he said.

“But we’ve got to see the truth of the project from Scott Morrison and Queenslanders have a right to be sceptical about his announcements because we’ve been burnt before.”

Originally published as Bob Katter threatens to switch from Coalition to Labor as Hells Gate Dam pledge falls short