Coalition gifts $600m to restore Queensland’s Paradise Dam

The Morrison government will contribute half the funding to rebuild $1.2 billion rebuild of Paradise Dam in the battleground marginal electorate of Flynn.

Water flows over the wall at the capacity-reduced Paradise Dam after years of drought. Picture: Sunwater

More than $1bn will be spent to rebuild the wall of Paradise Dam, with the Morrison government to announce on Friday it will contribute half the funds for the project in the marginal electorate of Flynn.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce will visit Bundaberg, 360km north of Brisbane, on Friday to commit $600m to the expensive repair job, set to begin next year.

It follows the Palaszczuk government’s commitment of $600m on Tuesday to rebuild the dam wall to its original height, two years after it was lowered by 5m because of instability issues.

Paradise Dam, in the Wide Bay-Burnett fruit and vegetable growing region, was built by the Beattie Labor government in 2005. However, problems with the structural integrity of the wall were identified in 2019, leading the Queensland government to reduce its 300,000 megalitre cap­acity by about 42 per cent.

Premier Annastacia Palas­zczuk’s announcement on Tuesday came after two years of deliberations on whether to ­rebuild the dam to its original ­capacity.

Mr Joyce said returning the dam to its full capacity would provide water security for farmers and businesses. “Farmers in the region have spent the last two years in limbo, worrying if they’ll have the water they need to support and grow their businesses into the future,” he said.

“It’s all well and good for the Queensland Labor government to say they’ll fix the dam but the funding they’ve committed falls well short of what’s required to complete the job.

“Committing enough money to half-repair the dam doesn’t allay the fears of locals, which is why the Liberal and Nationals government is putting the remaining money on the table.”

Farmers in the region have been angered by the dam’s capacity reduction and reduced water allocations. Some have joined a class action against the state government to try to recoup lost profits.

Their frustration was further compounded in December when the dam overflowed after years of drought, with the excess water running down the Burnett River.

Bundaberg-based federal Water Minister Keith Pitt blamed the Queensland government for failing to build the dam properly in the first place. “Despite desperate pleas to fix it from our local agriculture sector over the last two years, we’ve had nothing but delays and excuses from the state government about why it couldn’t be done,” he said.

“I welcome the Deputy Prime Minister’s announcement that the commonwealth will help pay for the repairs but it’s crucial the Queensland Labor government does the job properly so the dam can do what it was supposed to do – boost local jobs and economic opportunities.

“While I am pleased we are able to deliver the money that’s necessary, it breaks my heart to think this funding could have gone to a new Level 5 hospital for Bundaberg or to dual-carriage the Maryborough-Bundaberg section of the Bruce Highway.”

Paradise Dam is on the edge of the Flynn electorate, held by the Coalition’s Ken O'Dowd, who is retiring at the end of this term.

State Callide MP Colin Boyce has been preselected as the LNP’s candidate to replace him, but he faces competition from Labor’s Matt Burnett, Gladstone’s mayor.

Labor sources say Flynn, with a margin of 8.6 per cent, is the party’s best chance of taking a seat from the Coalition in Queensland.