Big Buffalo dam
Mr McCURDY (Ovens Valley) (09:52): I am absolutely thrilled about the support that I am receiving from my community about referring the Big Buffalo concept to the National Water Grid Authority. Drought across regional Australia is taking its toll on farmers and certainly farming communities. Climate change scientists insist that with rain events we will see heavier downpours less often and with longer periods of dry, so the logic to build Big Buffalo is certainly compelling. I want to educate groups and individuals about The Nationals’ plan to build and expand Big Buffalo, and I want to alleviate any concerns and help people to understand this project, including the generation of hydro-electricity. For anyone who wants to understand, I encourage them to call my office and I can take them through this process step-by-step. It is a tri-state, multibeneficiary project that helps farmers, farming communities and of course the environment.
I genuinely hope that the Andrews government will reach out to understand this proposal. This plan embraces commonwealth funding: firstly, to research the economics, and secondly, to build it if required. If the government of Victoria really cares about the region, they will embrace this concept. Let us look at the economics and let us do it for our farmers, because our farming communities and our farmers are counting on us.