For Bundaberg growers, the uncertainty surrounding Paradise Dam feels like a wound that never quite healed.
It has been more than a decade since major flooding in the region gave us the first inkling that all was not well with the dam wall.
By 2019, that trickle of concern had turned into a torrent of anxiety for the region’s agricultural sector and wider community.
The announcement that the wall would need to be lowered sent shockwaves across the region.
For growers, it wasn’t simply about a piece of infrastructure – it was about water security, investment confidence, regional jobs, and the future of one of Australia’s most important food-producing regions.
Bundaberg is far more than a sugar town. This region helps feed the country.
From sugarcane to sweet potatoes, avocados, macadamias, tomatoes, citrus and more, Bundaberg is one of Queensland’s great agricultural engines.
Thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity depend on the success of the region’s farming sector.
And the farming sector’s success depends on reliable water.
Paradise Dam was built to provide that long-term water security for agriculture, communities and industry throughout the Bundaberg and Burnett region.
Without certainty around water availability, growers cannot invest with confidence in irrigation infrastructure, machinery or expansion.
Agriculture is not something that can simply be switched on and off at a moment’s notice.
CANEGROWERS stood shoulder-to-shoulder with other ag organisations, businesses and community leaders to ensure the issue could not be ignored.
What followed was a long and often frustrating campaign to secure a commitment that Paradise Dam would be fully restored – not partially rebuilt or permanently compromised, but restored properly so the region could finally move forward.
Eventually, those commitments were made.
The previous Queensland Government publicly committed to rebuilding Paradise Dam to full supply level. The Liberal National Party then took that commitment to the election and senior ministers repeatedly reaffirmed it following the change of government.
That is why recent media speculation suggesting that Sunwater does not support the project is gravely concerning. The Crisafulli Government will need to back up their recent assurances with a strong public commitment to this project.
This is now a test of integrity.
The Queensland Government must stand by the commitments it made to Bundaberg growers, businesses and families.
