This week’s federal budget reveals dramatically different priorities on water projects compared with the previous government. 

Major projects championed by Nationals MPs including Hells Gate Dam, the Hughenden irrigation scheme in Queensland and the Dungowan and Wyangala dams in NSW, have been dumped or postponed. 

The Hells Gates Dam project will no longer proceed because the government says a detailed business case determined it is not deliverable, has insufficient water allocation, and would result in significant detrimental impacts on the environment and First Nations cultural heritage.

The $5.4 billion Hells Gate project in north Queensland had the vocal support of former deputy PM Barnaby Joyce.

Almost $900 million for the Emu Swamp dam, Dungowan dam and pipeline, Hughenden Irrigation Scheme and Wyangala Dam wall-raising projects have been put on hold, with budget papers stating the projects will be “reconsidered” once business cases and “viable pathways to delivery” are completed and assessed.

The government has instead allocated $278 million over five years for “nationally significant transformational projects”, including efforts to secure Cairns’ water supply.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) will receive a $51.9 million boost over five years to update its understanding of climate change and its impacts on the basin. It will also receive $22.9 million “to update the science of water management”.

There is also an unpublished amount of “initial funding” allocated to “meeting the environmental water targets in the plan” – which could be for more voluntary water buybacks, as neither NSW nor Victoria will meet commitments under the plan by 2024. The amount was not published for fears it could distort the water market.

Over $1.1 billion has been put aside for water infrastructure projects, including:

  • $600 million towards the Paradise Dam Improvement project in Queensland

  • $107.5 million towards the Cairns Water Security – Stage 1 project in Queensland

  • $3.5 million towards the Mount Morgan Water Supply project in Queensland

  • $100 million towards the Pipeline to Prosperity Tranche 3 projects in Tasmania. 

  • $300.6 million towards the Darwin Region Water Supply – Stage 1 in the Northern Territory

  • $7.1 million towards the Adelaide River Science project in the Northern Territory

  • $23 million towards the Nyngan to Cobar Pipeline – Stage 1 in New South Wales

  • $11.5 million towards strategic planning for improving water security in Queensland

  • $8 million in additional funding towards Big Rocks Weir in Queensland

  • $12.5 million towards groundwater improvement and water efficiency in the lower Burdekin

The Federal Government says it will “scope the establishment of a National Water Commission to deliver national water reform”, in collaboration with state and territory governments.  

The government will also transfer funding and responsibility for administering the $40.0 million Aboriginal Water Entitlements Program from the National Indigenous Australians Agency to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water as the lead agency delivering the government’s plans for the Murray–Darling Basin.