Newsroom

February 10, 2022

IN RESPONSE to a question from the Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pleaded with the Queensland Government to get behind the Hughenden Irrigation Project (HIPCo) so that dozers can get on the ground and construction can begin.

The irrigation scheme involves a 200,000 ML dam and would unlock 11,000 hectares of irrigation for diversified crops on the southern side of the of the Flinders River, near Hughenden in North West Queensland.

“We need the Queensland Government to support this project,” the Prime Minister said during Question Time.

“It is an incredibly important project for North West Queensland and we urge the Queensland Government to work with us to deliver this project. To get the dozers on the ground and utes and boots out there to get this project moving

“The Member for Kennedy and I, as well as the Minister for Infrastructure and his predecessor, have been working to get this project moving.

But the Queensland Government are yet to come onboard to ensure that we can get this project approved so we can get the jobs, and the wealth and so we can access the resources that are so important for Australia’s economic future.

“The Member for Kennedy understands that if we don’t access the resources of our nation and manage them properly for our wealth, then we can’t defend our country.”

Mr Katter said that the water allocations for the Flinders River and North Queensland Rivers should prioritise local communities and owner-operator farmers, not big corporations (some foreign owned) as the Queensland Government has done continually.

“If Queensland Government’s auction system is allowed, big corporations will get everything, all of the water, and locals will get nothing,” he said

“93 percent of Australia’s land mass contains 74 percent of our water but only one million people.

“The Mid-West and Gulf regions of Queensland have three of Australia’s biggest rivers and have 11 potential irrigation (ballot scheme) systems. We can bring 300,000 people out of the city slum areas and into a prosperous golden future.”

The Hughenden Irrigation Project has $180m in funding committed to it by the Morrison Federal Government, and now requires water allocations from the Queensland Government to proceed.