A major dam wall in Queensland’s Wide Bay will be rebuilt where it is, despite its operator first saying it could not be saved, then later recommending a new build plan be dumped.
In Bundaberg today, Premier David Crisafulli said the state government had committed $60 million in this year’s budget to progress the project. This would predominantly be geotechnical works.
“I don’t accept the nonsensical argument that was being put up, which is an inferior, smaller wall downstream; I just don’t,”
Mr Crisafulli said.
“That’s not what we promised.”
Stephen Bennett, Shaun Tobin and David Crisafulli announce the rebuild. (ABC Wide Bay: Tayla Larsen)
Paradise Dam on the Burnett River near Bundaberg has been plagued with problems for years, after safety concerns were raised about the crumbling wall in 2019.
The wall’s height was lowered by 5.8 metres in 2020, with $1.2 billion in joint funding from the state and federal governments committed to rebuilding the wall.
But in 2024, dam operator Sunwater announced there were too many issues to be repaired, and instead recommended a new wall downstream, at an estimated cost of at least $4.4 billion.
Then in May, a leaked letter from Sunwater chairman Jeff Seeney to the government recommended the new build plan be scrapped because the project was “grossly disproportionate”.
Mr Seeney said the previous government’s “pre-emptive announcement” to rebuild Paradise Dam was unsupported by a “range of technical and financial information” that would be considered essential for such a decision, and that it “lacks any rigour or professional credibility”.
Mr Crisafulli said the Sunwater business case was yet to be delivered but would look at how the wall would be rebuilt.
A $60 million commitment in this year’s state budget will allow for Paradise Dam restoration work to continue. (ABC Wide Bay: Tayla Larsen)
“With that will be the confidence that it’s going to be here for the long term, not some sort of short-term patch-up job and not some sort of inferior, smaller product downstream,” he said.
“This is going to be a rebuild and with that will come generational security for people to be able and have the confidence to invest in the region.”
Dam ‘crucial’ for region
Bundaberg Regional Irrigators Group spokesperson Dale Hollis said water security was crucial for the region.
“Our economy is around about $10 billion a year, and about $2.5 billion of that comes from intensive irrigated agriculture and add-on businesses,” he said.
“We’re very pleased that both the minister and premier stood by the rebuild of the dam.”
Sugarcane grower and irrigator Judy Plath said the news was reassuring, but she was hoping for more detail.
Judy Plath is concerned about water security in the Wide Bay-Burnett region. (ABC Rural: Abbey Halter)
“This region will be waiting eagerly for some kind of document to specify what a rebuild means,” she said.
“The most important thing is we’d like to see the premier apply the same speed and efficiency that he applied to getting the Olympics projects underway.”
Ms Plath said the biggest concern was a drawn-out review period when the government decided how to rebuild the wall.
“Any kind of delays on the rebuild of Paradise Dam are going to put this district under significant pressure,” she said.
“Because we’re predicting an El Niño, they’ve been predicting dry years ahead and, at the end of the day, the current dam that we have is only half its original size.”
The future of Paradise Dam has been uncertain since safety concerns were first raised in 2019. (ABC News: Johanna Marie)
