Federal Member for Capricornia Michelle Landry has called upon the Queensland Government to come clean on their poor record on building water infrastructure in the state.
Ms Landry said the issue of the lack of action on building water infrastructure in Queensland is a huge concern for the future of Queensland.
“The Federal Government has put billions of dollars on the table for the Queensland Government to build water infrastructure but so far, they only seem to downgrade water projects and try to tear them down like Paradise Dam.
“We want dams to be built and at the correct size. When I see projects like Rookwood Weir not being built to full capacity, it makes me angry.
Ms Landry said the history of Rookwood Weir tells a story of Labor’s failure to build water infrastructure correctly and on time.
“Then-Premier Peter Beattie promised to build Rookwood Weir back in 2006. We made a commitment in 2016 to pay half of the costs. It has taken until 2021 for the Queensland Government to start building Rookwood with enormous cost blowouts.
“Instead of writing to Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack to discuss the costings, the Labor Party has tried to score political points through the media.
“The sad part of this is the community misses out. So, instead of a weir which will hold 76,000 ML of high priority water, it will hold 50,000 ML of high priority water. The Labor Party has already started to fudge the figures and say it will have the capacity to hold 72,000 ML of water but it is medium priority water,” Ms Landry said.
“Water is our most precious asset and these games only stand to harm our farmers, landowners and graziers. The Queensland Government needs to build water infrastructure right the first time”.
