Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison builds the Hell’s Gate Megadam in Queensland, promising that the project will provide employment, water and food security to the region ahead of the expected federal elections by May. I promised to do it for $ 5.4 billion.
The Hell’s Gate Dam is expected to be four times as large as Sydney Harbor and is expected to catch the country’s seasonal monsoon rains and open up 60,000 hectares of farmland in North Queensland.
“This is one of the projects that will transform the country,” Morrison told Seven’s Sunrise Program on March 23.
The 2,100 gigaliter dam provides irrigation to three agricultural areas in Badekin and is expected to be strengthened by three downstream irrigation weirs.
The prime minister touted the employment boom in the region, with thousands under construction and 3,000 after operations, the dam turning North Queensland into an agricultural powerhouse, farmers stocking supermarkets, and Australia. He said it would make it possible to feed people.
“We need to build more dams in Australia. Building dams will strengthen our economy by helping the agricultural industry realize its true potential,” Morrison said. I did. In release.. “Water is a valuable resource and we need more dams to make better use of it.”
Hell’s Gate is expected to inject up to $ 1.3 billion in Gross Regional Product (GRP) into the North Queensland economy during construction. When the project becomes operational, it is expected to generate $ 6 billion in GRP.
The federal government will fully fund the project and ask the Queensland Government to “cut the green tape” to approve the project.
“Frankly, I don’t think the Queensland Government will put it in anyway, so I’m not going to ask the Queensland Government for a penny, so we’re going to do it 100 percent,” Morrison said. Talked about the sunrise at Seven program. “What we need for them is to take out a big approval stamp, approve it, and keep going.”
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development, said the project would bring Australia closer to more than $ 100 billion in agricultural production annually by 2030.
“The faster the water flows to the west, the more products we can sell to the world and the more money we can make to help make Australia stronger as soon as possible,” he said.
Did Scott Morrison announce the Hell’s Gate Dam again? Must be an election.
— Terri Butler MP (@terrimbutler) March 22, 2022
While supporting the project, Katter’s Australian state legislator Robbie Katter questioned the current proposal.
“I hate being always negative when it comes to government,” Katter said. Told 4BC Radio March 23. “I like the fact that they are spending money on it. That’s great. But when you’re in the political world, when they talk about problems, how ignorant people really surprise people. Will be. “
He said Dam was part of the first phase of the Bradfield project for 80 years.
“Everyone throws it as a catchphrase … before the election. But what they are unaware of is that the proposals presented at this time will permanently kill the Bradfield project.
“So they are funding to build a dam that is not big enough to raise the water to a height high enough to send it over the Great Dividing Range to the Black Saltfield. The place was kind of the whole plan from the first Bradfield, “he said.
According to Congressman Herbert Philip Thompson, exports are expected to flow through the Port of Townsville and affect cities in the north.
“This project has helped us from the beginning because it creates jobs and drives the economy forward,” says Thompson.
“The Port of Townsville is in a good location to handle exports from the region, especially after positive planning and investment in channel expansion projects.”
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Caden Pearson is a writer and editor based in Cairns, Australia. He mainly writes about national affairs, Indo-Pacific geopolitics, and COVID-19 measures and pushbacks. He has a background in screenwriting and documentary. Contact him at [email protected]