Senator McDONALD (Queensland) (17:35): The old saying 'water is life' can't be stressed enough when we discuss regional Australia, and it's clear only the Liberal and National parties take water seriously in this country. In Queensland especially, we've had Labor governments for 18 of the past 21 years, which have been content to let water run out to sea rather than capture it for the benefit of people. Anyone who has been to our tropical north during the annual wet season will be amazed and probably saddened at how much crystal-clear precious water is lost. Dams are not only good for people but also become hotbeds of activity for native plants and animals. Why Labor has stalled on developing even minor water infrastructure, let alone a Bradfield type scheme, is a shameful mystery. The Queensland LNP has announced that, if elected, it will build a Bradfield type scheme that will make our state the envy of Australia. An early and critical stage after the dam construction is the allocation and distribution of water into the Big Rocks Weir near Charters Towers. The Hughenden irrigation scheme and the Richmond irrigation scheme projects are critical to the development of North Queensland. On a recent visit with Richmond's mayor, John Wharton, his vision and excitement for his community for cropping and value-added industry in that area was contagious. The plains of promise stretched before us as Mayor Wharton described the dreams of earlier pioneers realised. I saw a trial chickpea crop and a magnificent forage sorghum crop that were both beyond your wildest dreams in the rich black soil plains of that area. In Hughenden, the HIPCo project and 15 mile project also hold incredible opportunity for that community. There is a projection of 1,000 additional jobs—that means more families, more teachers, more services and more opportunity. Mayor Jane McNamara has excited farmers from down south with the idea of good soils, warm climate and fewer pests. Now just add water and Hughenden has unlimited potential. It is the same for Charters Towers with the Big Rocks Weir Project, a $30 million project where Mayor Liz Schmidt has big ideas to secure the beef industry with additional feed to be grown throughout the season, and additional water will secure the town's water supply as well as provide another recreational space. One day, I hope my home town of Cloncurry will be able to enjoy a new dam, with the Cave Hill project being scoped and into its feasibility study stage now. Queensland Labor have had to be dragged kicking and screaming to match our federal coalition government's enthusiasm and funding for new dams, which shows just how out of touch they are with people outside of South-East Queensland. Not only will these monumental projects store water; they'll provide plenty of dispatchable, emissions-free power. Unfortunately, this does take time, and, as the proverb states, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second best time is now. Labor has dropped the ball on water projects which should have been completed by now. The coalition and our state counterparts are ready to pick up the slack. On 4 September 2019 the Queensland government advised that it would not continue with the Nogoa Mackenzie Water Supply Scheme efficiency improvement project. The Queensland government has also released megalitres of water from Paradise Dam, near Bundaberg, a dam that they built not that long ago and repaired at enormous expense. The Queensland government has now announced that it needs to release water and reduce the size of the dam wall. The Queensland government has also announced that it wants to scale back the size of Rookwood Weir, near Rockhampton, which will result in less agricultural land being available to that community. Labor just doesn't get it when it comes to water, and it would be laughable if it weren't so serious. The National Water Grid Authority commenced operation on 1 October and is bringing together world's best science to identify and plan water infrastructure. The authority's objectives are to work with state and territory governments to identify water projects, such as the revised Bradfield Scheme, and deliver them via the government's $1.5 billion National Water Infrastructure Development Fund and the $2 billion National Water Infrastructure Loan Facility. There is money available to the states via this funding, especially via the $2 billion loan facility, which can provide concessional loans to co-fund the construction of economically viable water infrastructure. The Australian government is getting on with the job of building new water infrastructure to meet the needs of regional Australia. Our recent announcement of a jointly funded $1 billion infrastructure package in New South Wales is further proof that this government is delivering the funding needed to fast-track construction of water infrastructure for regional Australia. The government has now committed $1.48 billion through the fund and loan facility to co-fund the construction of 21 water infrastructure projects, with a total construction value of more than $2.6 billion. Our investments in these projects will guarantee new and affordable water for regional Australia into the future and will unlock the economic potential for new and expanded agriculture in regional Australia. The government is now also providing more than $132.9 million from the fund for 52 studies to help the states to get water infrastructure projects off the drawing board and into construction. In addition, we have committed $195 million to deliver stage 2 of Townsville's Haughton pipeline, which will support the city's access to a reliable water supply into the future. I couldn't finish speaking this evening without mentioning the decades of work that Sir Leo Hielscher and Sir Frank Moore have done to keep the concept and the dream of the Bradfield Scheme alive in Queensland. Their work in previous histories of government in Queensland meant that there was infrastructure, reasonable and affordable water and reasonable and affordable electricity and land opened up throughout the state, which allowed Queensland not just to prosper but to really thrive and to be a world's best economy. Those gentlemen are behind this project and they are excited about it. I can only hope that they are listening this evening.