QueenslandFarmerToday.com.au
OPINION
Paradise Dam has been deemed “unsafe” and will lose nearly half its original capacity
Real leadership needed Widespread rainfall throughout Queensland has finally filled many a parched rain gauge and has been a welcome relief for many rural and regional communities. The old saying that when it rains it pours, couldn’t be more accurate when describing rainfall patterns in Queensland and across Australia as a whole. While it is always a welcome sight to see rivers and creek running a banker, I often think about the wasted opportunity of not saving more of that water we receive for those times when the storm clouds fail to arrive. Over the past month we have had global leaders from around the world fly into Glasgow, Scotland, to attend the COP26 summit. Lots of hot air was wasted on lowering carbon emissions, increasing carbon credits, and reducing methane. Hardly a bleep was made about investing in mitigation and sustainability projects as we adapt to a changing climate. Water is the most critical resource that humans rely on. We need it to not only keep ourselves hydrated but to grow our food, flush our toilets, clean our streets, water our lawns and fill our swimming pools. It’s also a resource we which use to support and grow our rural and regional communities which not only helps grow our and fibre but drives employment and investment in our regions.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT TOM MARLAND In Bundaberg, we have gone through two years of uncertainty and pain as a result of the shock announcement that Paradise Dam was “unsafe” and needed to be lowered by 5.8 meters and its capacity reduced from 300,000 ML to 170,000 ML - or nearly half its original capacity. Farmers who started the water year on 22 per cent of their allocations have been struggling to keep their crops, trees and businesses alive and were facing the very real prospect of running out of water completely before Christmas - in the middle of the peak irrigation season. Thanks to good luck rather than good management, much needed rainfall in the upper catchment of the mighty Burnett River has provided a stay of execution for hundreds of struggling Bundaberg farmers. Paradise Dam is currently overflowing releasing approximately 20,000 million litres of
fresh water a day over its reduced spill way. Up until mid-November many Bundaberg irrigators were left with little other option but to “pray for rain”. Fortunately, those prayers were answered, and a catastrophic disaster was avoided. However, this is only a shortterm reprieve. The final decision on the future of Paradise Dam and the entire Bundaberg community now sits in the hands of the only person who really matters - and that’s our Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Restoring the dam has widespread community support and also bi-partisan political support from those who understand the importance of water security for not only food security but job and investment security. Bundaberg farmers are hoping for an early Christmas present and an end to the uncertainty which has thrown one of Australia’s largest fresh food bowls into chaos. But there are other projects throughout Queensland which are currently sitting on shelves gathering more dust than they are water. Whilst projects like the Rookwood Weir are finally turning some dirt and projects like Hells Gate, Urannah Dam and Emu Swamp Dam are slowly moving towards reality - there is much more work, investment and leadership that is
required to deliver water security for our State and Nation. Whilst constructing new dams are important, we also need to look at connecting our existing dams and water networks so that we are able to spread water from areas that receive high rainfall to those that miss out. It is often a frustration of mine that Federal funding for water projects are often held up by pithy state politics and approvals. The case in point is the Northern Australia Investment Fund which despite having $5 billion made available for water and industry development projects since 2015, only $70 million had been released by June 2021. Whilst $3.1 billion has been committed to over 27 projects - the majority of these projects have been held up by State Government funding and approvals. What is required is real political leadership - at both a Federal and State level to see these nation and economy building projects come to fruition. This requires our leaders at all levels to forget about which party they are aligned with and do the job they are actually elected to do - and that’s to protect and promote the wellbeing of their citizens and voters. The top of that list should be water and food security for our state and nation.
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December 2021 TODAY 15
