TRANSCRIPT: Press conference with Ken O’Dowd MP, Member for Flynn, 18 November 2018

E&OE

Subjects: Funding for Fairbairn Dam capacity improvements and Yamala Intermodal Hub/Inland Port

KEN O’DOWD:

I welcome Michael McCormack in an unusual role but he’s getting used to it. He’s the Acting Prime Minister. He’s normally the Deputy Prime Minister but I welcome Michael to Emerald and we’ve got a couple of nice announcements to make - very good announcements. They’re very exciting announcements. One is to do with the dam here where we stand here today and the other is the Yamala Intermodal Hub or the Inland Port as some people call it. One project will deliver more water into the region, physical water in the region. The other one will be a transport hub that will not only service Central Highlands and Emerald, it will also service Central Queensland and the Port of Gladstone. So these are both very, very, very important announcements. I’d like to welcome Michael and he’ll tell all us about it but it’s just good news for us out here in the Highlands.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Thanks Ken. It’s great to be here in Emerald with the hardworking Ken O’Dowd, the Member for Flynn. Ken not only talks up a big game here in Flynn, he goes down to Canberra, he talks up a big game there, but moreover, he delivers for the people of Emerald, for the people of the Central Queensland area and particularly for his electorate, for Flynn. For Ken, building a better Queensland, building a better regional Australia, is all about what he does. Today we do have two important announcements and of course they’re ongoing work that the Federal Government is doing. Three million dollars is going to the modernisation of the Fairbairn Dam. That's a significant investment in a significant project. The dam began construction in 1968 and was completed in 1972, but of course, it's badly in need of an upgrade and the upgrade that is happening through the Federal Government, in conjunction with…

(interruption re recording equipment)

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Three million dollars is going to the Fairbairn Dam modernisation project. The dam was completed in 1972 after a four-year build, but what this modernisation project is going to do is add a 6500 megalitre storage capacity. The dam is down to 17.2 per cent at the moment. I appreciate that it's very dry but it will rain again. We've seen just how much it can rain here and the fact is that Emerald not that long ago was almost washed away in the floods about a decade ago 2008, I believe, Ken. The fact is it does rain and it does rain in torrents so when it does, we need to store more of that water. We need to store the water for irrigation purposes, for irrigated agriculture. It's so important that we grow the very best food and fibre and we continue to do that; and they do that around Emerald. They do that in the Central Highlands. Ken O’Dowd knows all about that and he knows the jobs that can be created through additional agricultural pursuits, through additional irrigated agriculture and through making sure that that agricultural product gets to port, gets to market, quicker.

We're investing $2.9 million in the Yamala intermodal rail freight hub which is going to connect the rail, connect the Capricorn Highway and provide better logistical options for the farmers of this district.

Central Queensland is all about mining and agricultural wealth. It's all about jobs and prosperity and the LNP, through Ken O’Dowd’s hard efforts, are building on what is already here. So I'm excited to be here. We've got some significant investments the Federal Government is making through Ken O’Dowd’s advocacy; through his hard work; through his campaigning; making sure young people have a reason to stay in and around the areas that they grow up, in areas that they love. They want to stay close to family. These sorts of investments, $3 million for the dam, $2.9 million for the Inland Port, are giving them a reason to stay because it’s creating better jobs, better-paying jobs, more jobs, and that's what our Government is all about. That's what Ken O’Dowd is all about, creating jobs, creating more prosperity. I commend him for the work that he’s doing. I've no doubt that he will continue to work hard for years to come, for Flynn, for Emerald, for Gladstone, for his entire region because he understands the importance of creating more wealth, creating more jobs and making sure that people have a future in these regional communities.

QUESTION:

Fantastic. Why is this project so important to the people of Emerald and the surrounding areas?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Water is our most valuable resource. The Central Queensland area, these inland areas, rely on water to grow more food, more fibre; and they want to get that food and fibre to port and to markets quicker. That’s why we're investing in dams. We're investing in infrastructure. We're making sure that this sort of dam project is going to create an additional 50 jobs and 115 additional indirect jobs. So they're all local people, having reason to stay in their local communities, but also attracting other families and more investment from outside the area to these sorts of places. That's what we're about. That's what the Liberals and Nationals fight hard for every day of the week and that's what Ken O’Dowd will continue to fight for, continue to strive for, and not just in coming weeks and months, but indeed in years to come. He's got a long term plan, a long term vision, for this area and he wants to build it. He wants to grow better jobs, better paying jobs, and that's what he's all about.

QUESTION:

Did we cover how much money is going to be thrown into this project?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

$3 million from the Federal Government for the dam and $2.9 million for the intermodal rail freight hub.

QUESTION:

Thank you. We probably also covered this one but I’ll ask it anyway. With the water capacity having fallen to, I’ve got 19 per cent but you were saying…

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

…17.2 per cent this morning.

KEN O’DOWD:

It changes every day.

QUESTION:

Yes. It changes depending on…

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

It drops every day, unfortunately.

QUESTION:

So what are we going to do for water security in the region?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

What we're doing is we're modernising Fairbairn Dam. We’re providing a greater storage capacity, because it will rain again. As a Federal Government, we can't make it rain. More’s the pity but what we're doing is we're planning, we're preparing, for when it does rain again. Australia is a nation of droughts and flooding rains so during this dry time, we're preparing for the next time when it's going to be very, very wet and we're building the storage capacity of Fairbairn Dam: 6500 more megalitres for irrigated agriculture. That's going to create more wealth and more jobs; and it's going to happen because of Ken O'Dowd's campaigning, his hard work, and his advocacy.

QUESTION:

Fantastic. Is there anything else you want to add on this?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

No, it's all good.

KEN O’DOWD:

So no more questions?

QUESTION:

How important are these electorates to The Nationals?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

They're very important. Ken O’Dowd and I have been colleagues since 2010. I know that when he goes to Canberra, he fights hard for the people that he serves. He's a down-to-earth sort of person. He's a very practical person but he understands family. He understands business. They're the sorts of people that I want representing these regional areas; and as the Leader of the Nationals, as the Deputy Prime Minister, today Acting Prime Minister, it's the salt of the earth people like Ken O’Dowd I want in Parliament. I don’t want union members in Parliament who have never known anything other than picket lines outside the front of businesses. I want people who've run businesses. I want people who understand how important it is to create jobs, to create wealth, to make our communities bigger and better and stronger. They're the sort of people I want to rely on and I think Australians want to rely on to serve them in the Parliament. Ken O’Dowd represents all of that.

QUESTION:

Do you agree with Queensland Labor's view that The Nationals in Queensland are in turmoil?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

No, I think the Party that’s in turmoil, particularly in regional areas, is Labor. They've introduced these ridiculous vegetation laws which are going to prevent farmers from actually doing what they've always done best. Our farmers, our Queensland farmers, are the very best in the world. Make no mistake about that. They should be able to get on with the job that they've always done for our nation, growing the very best food and fibre, not just for domestic use but also for world markets to make sure that other people can enjoy the fruits of hardworking Australians, hardworking Queensland’s labour. They want to make sure that they have a future out here in Central Queensland. They want to make sure that they have jobs for their youngsters, jobs for themselves; and indeed, they want to make sure that the environments that they've got and the regional communities that they love are sustainable into the future. The LNP are backing them all the way and people like Ken O’Dowd, he's fighting hard to build a better Central Queensland, to build a better Flynn, to build a better Australia. Labor, they just talk, we deliver. The LNP delivers.

QUESTION:

So nothing's changed in regard then to yesterday's conference?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

You'd expect Labor to say all those sorts of things. I mean, they’re just politicking. We're more about policy; we’re more about long term planning and vision. That's what Ken O’Dowd represents. And it was great to attend that conference in Bundaberg yesterday. It was fantastic to hear the motions from the floor; fantastic that so many people gave up their time. Many of them drove eight and nine and 10 hours to get there to have their say. That's what grassroots representation is all about. That's what the LNP are all about.

I mean, Labor – they hold their conferences in Brisbane. They always do. They never get out to the regions. For them, the regions are just an afterthought but we're out here all the time, working hard, representing Queensland, making sure that regional people have a say at a grassroots level. Some of the motions and some of the resolutions that they passed yesterday at Bundaberg could well indeed become State and Federal law because that's how it happens. It comes from the branches; it goes through those sorts of regional conferences; then it goes to the Parliamentary Parties. They then discuss it and then it is put to the Parliament. What does Labor do? Well, they just listen to the unions. They are subservient to the unions, always were, are now, always will be.

QUESTION:

After coming for a quick drive out here and seeing how dry everything is, how do you think people are going to react to this announcement and how it may help them in the future?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

People will be very excited. I know people will be very excited about the fact that we're building storage capacity for Fairbairn Dam. It's significant. The Liberal-Nationals are all about building water storage capacity. We're all about building more dams, more water infrastructure. I’m delighted that the CSIRO recently identified six potential dam sites in the Top End. That's the sort of building that we want to act upon. They’re the sorts of reports that we want to talk about but not only then talk about but also get on and deliver. Labor – they don't believe in dams. They don't believe in water storage infrastructure. They just believe in making sure everybody's part of the union so that they get more money so they can spend it on trying to get re-elected. We're about actually delivering for the people, delivering real jobs, real outcomes and a real future.

Shane Manning