Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington discusses water issues with local farmers Stuart Nicholson, Andy Hetherington, Adam McVeigh and Damien Sippel (Photo: Nanango Electorate Office)

October 14, 2024

The much-discussed Barlil Weir will be built on Barambah Creek to help local irrigators …  if the LNP wins power at the October 26 election.

Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington made the $28 million commitment on Monday, but did not say when construction could start.

The 3000ML weir project has been discussed in the South Burnett for decades, and was an election promise by the LNP at the last State poll but Labor retained power. 

Mrs Frecklington said she had been pushing for the weir for many years to increase water security for local primary producers.

“The Barlil Weir is a vital project for the South Burnett,” Mrs Frecklington said.

“I have met with primary producers from the Byee and Mondure areas and they know that an investment in water is not only an investment in agriculture, but an investment in hope, growth and jobs for the South Burnett.

“This announcement is a clear signal that the LNP are pro-water security and are looking at projects across this State to progress and get built.

“I know this project will give local irrigators the confidence they need to invest more in their businesses, with certainty of water supply moving forward.

“Under Labor, projects like the Barlil Weir have been shovel-ready for years, yet this Labor Government’s addiction to reviews sees a constant merry-go-round of chaos rather than seeing shovels in the ground.”

The weir, downstream from Bjelke-Petersen Dam, would increase medium priority water allocations, along with indirectly benefitting all water users in the Barker Barambah Water Supply Scheme by increasing efficiency.

The LNP says Barlil Weir was first promised by Labor in 2000 and fully scoped, designed and the site purchased under the Burnett Catchment Water Infrastructure Project.

But it was never built.

In early 2019, Sunwater asked the State Government to apply to the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund for funding. This money would have funded almost half the costs but the government did not support the application.

In an Options Analysis for Water requirements in the North and South Burnett produced in 2020, the Barlil Weir was shortlisted as two of the best, feasible options with the greatest benefit.

The project was also chosen as one of the top three options in the recent Bundaberg and Burnett Regional Water Assessment.

Related articles:

Farmers in the Byee area have invested in major infrastructure to pump water from Barambah Creek but their allocations could be larger if Barlil Weir was built  (Photo: Supplied)
Water gets pumped up from Barambah Creek to irrigate local paddocks (Photo: Supplied)
The pumped water is directed into irrigation channels before being piped on to the crops (Photo: Supplied)
Some of the acres of land in the Byee and Mondure areas which would benefit from the greater availability of irrigation water (Photo: Supplied)

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