Palaszczuk Government calls for Fed action on Urannah Dam

The Palaszczuk Government has called on Morrison Government to step up the pace on  the proposed Urannah Dam west of Mackay.

Natural Resources Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said it was time for the Commonwealth to deliver for the people of North Queensland on its election campaign commitments.

“The LNP at State and Federal level have made promises about regional water infrastructure projects from one end of the state to the other,” he said.

“Now’s the time to deliver on at least one of them, and that’s a detailed business case in partnership with the Queensland Government for Urannah Dam.

“We welcome an honest and evidence-based appraisal of the dam.

“Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack offered $10 million nearly four months ago to get this project shovel-ready, and yet nothing’s happening.
“We want to see Scott Morrison deliver on his promise.

“We stand ready to participate the process put forward by the coalition government.

“It’s time we saw some action on the ground and I’m calling on the Member for Dawson to step up for his constituents.

“He was with Mr McCormack for the media announcement during the election campaign, but can he get the Deputy PM on the line and get this moving?”

BACKGROUND

The proposed Urannah Dam would dam the Broken River in the upper Broken River Valley south east of Collinsville.

With an estimated construction cost of up to $1.5 billion, Urannah Dam would store 1.5 million ML of water and facilitate irrigated agriculture zone along the Bowen River near Collinsville.

Bowen Collinsville Enterprise provided a preliminary business case  for a large dam and associated water distribution scheme to the Federal Government in June. 

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Media inquiries:  Jan Martin 0439 341 314