Up to $5.4 billion in federal taxpayer funds has been “locked in” to build the Hells Gate dam on the Burdekin River in North Queensland, even before the completion of a business case that the Coalition government said would be finished before public funds are spent.
The government also released a statement on Wednesday saying funding was “subject to the completion of the final stage of the business case, expected in June this year” – which would come after the federal election that is due in May. Grattan Institute infrastructure expert Marion Terrill said announcing the project funding before the business case was a “corruption of the process”.
Construction has begun on the 1700-kilometre Inland Rail line, which will run from Melbourne through central Victoria, inland NSW and into Toowoomba. However, the final route through Brisbane to the port is yet to be finalised or funded. “50,000 hectares is close to one-sixth of the existing cane lands in the entire reef catchment,” Ms Webster said. “Such a rapid expansion of agriculture could quickly reverse the progress that farmers and governments have made through their investments in water quality.
He’s just covering the govt’s arse so they can blame someone else when it’s knocked back. They know it’s an environmental disastrous project but they continue to spruik grand plans to make it look like they’re doing something. When everyone knows they do nothing of any use to us.
Why on earth would you not build it? Similar to Daniel Andrews failing to build the East West Link that would have bought in 100s of Million$ into Melbourne with the majority of funding from the Fed. Gov.
BarnabyJoyceLNP Someone should remind Barnaby that you shouldn’t turn up to work drunk