Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Allow me to repeat that point: five times the size of Sydney Harbour, and it is located only one hour from Townsville. Labor delivered the Burdekin Falls Dam, and it has only ever been Labor that has had a strong, long-term vision for water security for regional Queensland.

It was through the advocacy and work of the last Labor member for Herbert, Ted Lindsay, who delivered the Burdekin Falls Dam during the Hawke government. Coincidentally, Herbert has had over 20 years of Liberal representation, and not one measure or action has been done since Ted to secure water security for the north. The Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce can talk all he wants about his plans for water, but it is just hot air. It is only Labor that has a history on delivering water security for North Queensland, and it will only ever be Labor who actually delivers.

So I am here to pick up where my previous Labor predecessor left off. I am here to fight for water security for Townsville. Addressing water security for Townsville is key to our future growth and development. It is key to industry investment and key to population growth. If Townsville has any hope of being the capital of northern Australia, growing our ties with Asia and expanding our agriculture and tourism sectors, then we have to address the water crisis first. Addressing this is going to take real guts and a deep commitment and belief in northern Queensland. This is something I do not think this government has the guts to do.

The Townsville Ross River Dam is currently at 17 per cent. The Ross River Dam was a flood-mitigation strategy, and, as such, is shallow. The Townsville City Council have enacted water restrictions to level 3, and on 16 November last year, the council started pumping water from the Burdekin Falls Dam. There are several points to note once pumping commences. Firstly, it costs the council more than $27,000 a day to pump from the dam. Secondly, 130 megalitres are pumped per day; 40 megalitres are lost through evaporation. This evaporation is due to the fact that the current Haughton pipeline finishes at the Haughton channel. That is 42 kilometres away from the Ross River Dam that the water has to travel before reaching the dam.

There are two huge compounding issues that need to be addressed immediately—and they can be addressed. The original vision from the former Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, and the former Labor member for Herbert, Ted Lindsay, was to build a gravity-fed pipeline from the dam. Nothing has changed since Hawke. Townsville is still Brownsville. We are still facing a water crisis, and we are still waiting for the original vision of the Hawke government to be implemented.

The stress that our water issues are having on families is evident. I regularly visit primary schools and I meet with teachers and students. I have been absolutely astounded at the degree of anxiety in our young people in grades 4 and 5 over water.

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