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SW Queensland wants Clarence River’s water

Geoff Helisma |

Southern Downs Regional Council (SDRC) is seeking to pipe water from the Clarence River “to Tenterfield Shire Council and Southern Downs, Western Downs and Toowoomba Regional councils”.

Toowoomba’s mayor says it would be “a visionary, nation-building initiative”.

The SDRC formalised it unanimous decision at its August 28 council meeting.

The proposal tops SDRC’s list of five projects it is submitting “for consideration on the prioritised list of nationally significant projects by Infrastructure Australia”.

In a video on SDRC’s Facebook site, the mayor says “we have letters of support from Toowoomba regional Council and Paul Antonio, mayor of Toowoomba, [who is] also the chair of the Darling Downs South West Queensland Council of Mayors”.

Mr Antonio said in his letter: “As chair of Darling Downs South West Queensland Council of Mayors … I write to give the strongest of support to your council’s submission to the Australian Infrastructure Audit regarding long-term water security on the Darling Downs and NSW Border Ranges.”

Mr Antonio referred to a “crisis meeting” held among each of the councils on May 16.

“It was agreed we will work together to spread resources through planning to interconnect our [water] supplies….” he writes.

“New sources of water can include diversion from the headwaters of the Clarence River basin, via the Maryland River, and access to recycled water from Brisbane.

“Both these options require major investment well beyond the means of the councils involved.

“They also will take a merging of political wills across all three levels of government.

“Nothing short of a visionary, nation-building initiative led by the Commonwealth will solve the problem.

Meanwhile, Clarence Valley Council’s general manager, Ashley Lindsay, said that “no correspondence has come to my attention”, as of Monday August 2.

The valley’s mayor, Jim Simmons, said he had not been contacted.

“If it ever goes further it would have to involve significant community consultation,” he said, “and, from what I seen in the past, I don’t think the community would support it.”