Fitzgibbon’s house could be damned over Barnaby dam’s bet

Last week in a stinging speech in the House of Representatives directed at his opposing number’s portfolio performance, where a number of rigid assessments were delivered, the Shadow Agriculture Minister and leading Labor rural spokesperson said Mr Joyce would never build a dam, “'ll bet my house on it”.

“In the four years he's been agriculture minister, I can't name more than one thing he's done for the sector,” Mr Fitzgibbon said during a debate on the Regional Investment Corporation legislation.

“We hear lots of talk, 'money on the table, beef prices are up' as if he somehow had anything to do with that.

“He's going to build a dam here, a dam here and a dam everywhere.

“He'll never build a dam; I'll bet my house on it.

“Labor in government built water infrastructure projects, the Tasmanian Midlands project being the finest example, but in four years, the now agriculture minister has built no dam.

“He doesn't even have a dam plan; he doesn't have anything.

“He has money on the table he knows will never be picked up, because he knows the other parties, including the states, don't have the capacity to match the funds, but he rolls on with the rhetoric.”

However, Mr Joyce’s office provided details of various dam projects that they claim would contradict Mr Fitzgibbon’s claim.

It listed the Chaffey dam augmentation having started construction under the current minister and is now opened while three of the Tasmanian tranche two projects funded from the minister's water infrastructure fund, are completed or well advanced.

Other projects cited were; the Southern Highlands Southern Field dam as completed and other projects advanced like the Swan Valley irrigation scheme, Melrose dam and Duck irrigation scheme, where construction has commenced.

The shadow minister was asked to comment on the list but declined.

Mr Fitzgibbon’s statement of registerable interests for the 45th parliament list a residential and commercial property in Cessnock NSW, a jointly owned property in Nulkaba NSW and units in Red Hill and Yarralumla in the ACT.

His spouse is also named on the register for a residential property in Cessnock NSW, a jointly owned property in Nulkaba NSW and units in Red Hill and Yarralumla in the ACT.

The register does not provide a value for those properties.

NSW Nationals Senator John “Wacka” Williams said Mr Fitzgibbon’s statement last week declaring he’d bet his house on Mr Joyce not building a dam while minister, was “a bit ambitious”.

“If I was him, I wouldn’t be giving my caravan or tent away,” he said.

“Chaffey dam was talked about with Tony Windsor and Labor (when in government) but Barnaby got the money and now we’re going through green and red tape to build the sites.”

In 2015, in a radio interview where he was pushed to give a response, Mr Joyce bet his house on former Prime Minister Tony Abbott remaining leader of the Coalition government to the next federal election, with reports on the wager estimating his home property near Tamworth at $700,000.

Mr Abbott was subsequently replaced by Mr Turnbull as leader and led the Liberals/Nationals at last year’s election where the government was narrowly returned, by a one seat majority.

Mr Joyce did not pay the bet – but a spokesperson for the minister said, given it was in a media interview, he didn’t mislead parliament.

The spokesperson said Mr Fitzgibbon would need to put his house on the market or correct the hansard record, given dams are being built.

During the debate last week on the RIC, NSW Nationals MP and Small Business Minister Michael McCormack said the new commonwealth agency would administer $2 billion in concessional loans to “support the long-term strength, sustainability and profitability of farm businesses”.

He said it would also deliver the $2 billion National Water Infrastructure Loan Facility, to provide concessional loans to the states and territories to fast-track priority water infrastructure projects.

“We want a secure water supply to unlock even more potential in the agriculture sector and to drive investment across regional and rural Australia, whether it's northern Australia or southern Australia,” he said.

“Our agricultural industries are fundamental to the prosperity of regional Australia and the nation.

“Through this bill we'll continue to back farmers, day in, day out.”

But Mr Fitzgibbon warned the RIC fell short of governance standards and the enabling legislation was now under threat, in the Senate, which could potentially later Mr Joyce’s plans to establish it in Orange, in regional NSW, in mid-2018.