The New Dungowan Dam is the best possible option to build a safer and stronger Tamworth and surrounding regions.
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Recent commentary from the Greens criticising the dam saying it does not stack up financially actually says that we are second class citizens and are not worth anything.
That's insulting to our community who did the heavy lifting and went through the very real pain of severe water restrictions to preserve as much water as we could in Chaffey Dam so that we didn't run out of water.
We all suffered the pain and the greens say we are not worth it!
The business case clearly says "The recommended option, the New Dungowan Dam and Pipeline, is the only option that develops additional storage to improve water security and resilience to climate change for the Tamworth region."
Building the New Dungowan Dam and Pipeline will be the turning point for water security for Tamworth and the Peel Valley, nearly halving the risk of the town running out of water during droughts.
The Greens talk about increasing the urban reserve in Chaffey.
Let's not sugar coat it, they want us to take water away from farmers. That means holding more water in Chaffey for town use and less for farmers - no water no income.
Our farmers provide the food and fibre that our nation depends on.
At a local level, meat processing is one of the largest industries in Tamworth. For meat processing you need livestock. For livestock you need fodder. For fodder you need water, and the cycle continues.
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The greens want to break that cycle, which would devastate our local economy.
Tamworth is a growing city - the new dam would meet the growing population and support industries that provide local jobs.
Without these jobs unemployment rises, and Tamworth suffers as we have seen in other major regional centres.
Without water infrastructure economic growth stops, people's livelihoods are on the line and employment opportunities disappear, which is why you cannot measure water security infrastructure in dollars alone.
We need to consider the real risks that climate change presents to water supply including the cost of relocating towns without adequate water and the risk of farmers walking off the land.
You can't put a price on water, you can't put a price on people, and you can't put a price on the aspirations of the people of Tamworth and the Peel Valley.
