Farmers along the upper Burdekin River, near Charters Towers in north Queensland, are hoping for fast progress to build a $54 million weir.
The three-decade-old plan to create Big Rocks Weir, a new storage upstream of the giant Burdekin Falls Dam, Queensland's largest, received a boost when Kennedy MP Bob Katter extracted $230 million for irrigation projects in return for supporting the Morrison Government.
A month on from that announcement, irrigators say the more progress made before the federal election, likely to be held in May next year, the better for funding security.
The Big Rocks Agricultural Group's Michael Penna, who irrigates potatoes and fodder crops, said he was hopeful work could start within months.
"If we can get a tender happening pretty quick, I can't see any reason why you couldn't be building a little saddle dam in May next year, after the wet season," he said.
"I did some back of the envelope calculations on 10,000 cubic metres of concrete; they'd only be pouring concrete for a month."
Big opportunities
Mr Penna said the extra water would double capacity to grow crops along the upper Burdekin, and increase viability for the region's crops.
"With more permanent crops it'll bring more employment … agriculture is a risky game at the moment, so it just makes it a more viable enterprise," he said.
"I plant crops according to the flow in the river. If the flow is diminishing I don't grow anything.
"You don't generate the income, therefore you don't use the local businesses as much, you don't employ people, it's just a flow-on thing."
Cucurbit and brassica grower Anthony Caleo, based at Sellheim, said more permanent crops like avocados could be grown with greater water security.
"There's really nothing that couldn't be grown here. In the district there are citrus growers, there are grape growers," Mr Caleo said.
"It's a dry climate; as long as you can apply the water anything will grow."
Queensland welcomes funding, asks for detail
The proposed weir has been welcomed by the Queensland Government, but Minister for Natural Resources Anthony Lynham said more details were required.
"We would love to have the federal money come up here; we would love to have the Federal Government build infrastructure in Queensland," he said.
"If they're offering money to Queensland, I'll take it."
But Dr Lynham refused to promise any fast-tracking of the project, urging the Commonwealth to approach him first.
"If you want to build infrastructure for the benefit of Queensland, I'll take your money," he said.
The Prime Minister's office did not respond to requests for comment.
