General News
23 April, 2022
Morrison Government Invests $107.5 Million Into The Cairns Water Security Project
A re-elected Morrison Government will provide $107.5 million to secure the future of Cairns’ water supply into the next decade and avoid a potential drinking water shortfall by 2026.
On April 14, Federal Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch and Special Envoy for Northern Australia Senator Susan McDonald, accompanied by acting Mayor Terry James visited the Cairns Regional Council water treatment facility to make the announcement.
The Coalition’s funding would cover 50% of the total cost of the Cairns Water Security Project Stage 1, which would source additional water from the Mulgrave River and improve the water treatment processes for the existing Behana Creek water supply. It would also ensure the water from the Tinaroo Falls Dam would continue only to be sourced for agricultural purposes.
According to Cairns Regional Council, by 2026, Cairns will run out of water, resulting in an increase of $226 extra per year for each water user over 30 years.
Federal Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said he had been advocating for this project and was proud to be able to deliver it to the community.
“The Cairns Water Security Project – Stage 1 is the city’s number one infrastructure project,” Mr Entsch said.
“It has been a battle, and a lot of politics have played into this, making it more difficult.
“The reality is, urban water is the responsibility of State Governments and Local Governments. It would have been easier if the State Government had stepped up initially and said we want to be part of the solution.
“But despite that, we were successful in getting it.
“We need State Government to step up as they have in other areas, and it’s not a matter of if but when so the planning can start.
“We’re looking at this being completed by around 2026, but the work needs to start now,” he said.
Although Mr Entsch highlighted the importance of the funding announcement, he criticised Cairns Regional Council for their lack of a prompt response to the water issues, which they have been aware of for many years.
“I understand that this issue has been on the Council books for about 10 to 14 years,” Mr Entsch said.
“I was briefed on it in the latter part of last year.
“This is where I’ve been cranky with the way Council have dealt with this.
“We had an election two years ago in the State Government; why wasn’t water security front and centre of that election.
“Suddenly, five minutes before a Federal election, it becomes a great issue.”
Acting Mayor Terry James said that Council had no regrets about how they have handled the water security issue.
“Warren is probably referring to this specific project, but we’ve always had a water security problem, and the urgency kept getting tighter and tighter,” he said.
“I was elected to Council back in 1994, 28 years ago; that’s when we first started looking at another water supply.
“We’ve gone up many dry alleys mainly directed by State Government, what we can and cannot do, so we got to the point now where we were stuck, and we had to ask for that commitment.
“So we make no apologies for what we’ve been doing. We’ve been reinforcing the need to do something now so that we don’t have to charge our ratepayers.”
Senator McDonald said that ensuring the Cairns water security project was critical in preventing the water shortfall.
“Because it’s important that people in Cairns should be able to have the same water security that other people in the state have,” she said.
“It’s important that they’re able to wash their cars, water their lawns and have a shower.
“So I’m delighted that this will not only secure Cairns’ water supply, but it also ensures that agricultural water from the Tinaroo Dam in the Tablelands will not be touched.
“This is incredibly important, and farmers in the Tablelands want to know that their water security is also ensured, and this will do it.”
Acting Mayor Terry James said that although this funding was a huge step, there were still many to come.
“It’s a great day for Cairns Regional Council and particularly our community,” Cr James said. “But we can’t rest on our laurels yet; we’ve got a couple more boxes to tick. So we’re now relying on the Labor Party to do their thing, and then we can build another structure for our Water Security Project Stage 1.
” According to Acting Mayor Terry James, Council has already begun the planning stage of the water security project to ensure its completion by 2026. He said the work would be nonstop independently of reaching the funding goals; however, if not achieved, this project would be paid out of the residents’ pockets.
Cairns Water Security Project – Stage 1 would only ensure water security for 15 years; once Stage 1 is completed Council needs to plan for the next stage of the project.
Two days after the Coalition’s announcement, the Labor Party announced their funding of $107.5 million for the Cairns water security project and the establishment of a National Water Commission to push for ongoing water reforms and protect Australia’s water resources for the future.
