Barnaby Joyce continues to back the proposal for a new dam near Tamworth, despite a damning review from Infrastructure Australia.
Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce has dismissed an independent report critical of a $1.3 billion dam proposal in his electorate, saying the report is "wrong" and the dam should "absolutely" go ahead.Barnaby Joyce says nothing else will improve Tamworth's water securityInfrastructure Australia found there was "insufficient evidence" for the proposed $1.3 billion Dungowan Dam near Tamworth, and criticised the business case as "poorly substantiated.
As Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister, Mr Joyce signed up to spending $675 million of federal money on the dam in a 50-50 funding split with the state government."We've got two choices, to find more water or stop [Tamworth] from growing. They include buying back water licences from irrigators, and increasing the amount of water reserved for town use in the 100 gigalitre Chaffey Dam."We actually decimate the irrigator industry in the Peel Valley, that in itself is bad enough," he said.
Cr Webb said the indirect impact on businesses in Tamworth would also be significant, and more work needed to be done to reveal the price tag of not building the dam.
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