Treasurer Cameron Dick has trumpeted an expected $5.2 billion surplus – driven by coal royalties – this financial year,with the threat of another particularly wet summer among several challenges ahead.
The detail was laid out under “emerging fiscal pressures” in the mid-financial year update,,as Australia’s east coast awaits a after a year of severe flooding.
Under that headline,the document stated “additional” and upgraded water infrastructure would be needed across the state in the next decade to meet demand,give security when drought strikes,and ensure dams meet safety guidelines.
Expenses and investment linked to hosting were described as another pressure point,while the opposition warned infrastructure was not keeping pace with growth,and the resources sector reiterated concerns that higher coal royalties would scare off investment.
The update follows a last year that raised serious questions about the lack of attention to dam safety programs.
Alongside years-late inspections was an estimated bill of $4.6 billion to complete just the dam upgrades needed by 2035 – up from an initial estimate of only $500 million.
“The department does not have a fully costed timetable for when owners will complete the 2025 and 2035 upgrades,” the report says. “It has not actively managed the risk that affordability of significant upgrades could delay safety upgrades.”
Somerset and Wivenhoe dams,which provide water and flood protection to Brisbane and parts of south-east Queensland, for legally required work that is tipped to approach $1 billion alone.
Just last summer,before the drenching received by large parts of the state,the government was weighing up options for south-east Queensland water as dam levels dwindled.
These included the need for new water sources such as dams,desalination plants,or a– revealed by this masthead – pending ministerial sign-off.
Since then,the government has committed $300 million for a pipeline to carry water between Wivenhoe Dam and Toowoomba – to be fed into the Southern and Darling Downs – but has revealed little detail about further plans.
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