A re-elected Turnbull-Joyce Government will invest $6.7 million to deliver the critical water infrastructure the people of Port Douglas and Craiglie deserve, after strong advocacy from the Member for Leichhardt, Warren Entsch.
Minister for Regional Development Fiona Nash announced the commitment in Port Douglas today, alongside Mr Entsch.
The $14.4 million project, which will help upgrade the water supply infrastructure for Port Douglas and Craiglie, includes the design and construction of a 20ML reservoir, including 2.5 kilometres of dedicated outlet mains and improved sealed road access.
The project will create over 30 jobs during the 18 month construction period, with 40 full time new jobs created per year as a result of this worthy investment.
Minister Nash recognised the importance of the project to the region, noting the need of critical water infrastructure in regional Australia.
“The Cairns region is synonymous with world class tourism, and through this targeted investment, local tourist operators, businesses and the community will have confidence to grow, with long-term water security now assured.
“As a farmer from a regional area myself, I know how important water security is. Water is wealth – for the tourist operators of Cairns and the farmers of the Central West.
“As Minister for Regional Development, I aim to help build the types of communities that our children and grandchildren want to stay in or come back to. A project like this helps to do that, by providing the certainty and security to help local business grow and create new job opportunities,” she said.
Mr Entsch welcomed the announcement and underlined the importance of the project to the local community.
“This has been identified as the number one infrastructure priority for Douglas Shire Council, and I’ve been working closely with Mayor Julia Leu on ways to support the project,” Mr Entsch said.
“Detailed design work and planning has already been completed and Council has acquired the site, which I visited a couple of weeks ago with Mayor Leu and Council’s General Manager of Operations, Paul Hoye.
“There’s no doubt that the new reservoir will be a game-changer for us, because it will remove the current constraints on development and investment in Port Douglas.
“It will underpin the renewal of existing tourism infrastructure, encourage new tourism development, and secure a reliable water supply for residential and commercial development at Craiglie.”
