The National Water Infrastructure Development Fund (NWIDF) was established by the Australian Government in 2015 as part of the broader Developing Northern Australia White Paper agenda. Originally launched as a $500 million program, the fund was designed to accelerate the planning and construction of dams, irrigation schemes, pipelines and groundwater projects across regional and northern Australia.

The fund aimed to “unlock” water resources to support agricultural expansion, regional economic growth and new infrastructure investment. It included funding for both feasibility studies and construction projects, helping move proposed irrigation developments, including schemes like Lakeland, from concept stage toward implementation using significant public funding.

In 2018, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation completed the Northern Australia Water Resource Assessment as part of the broader Northern Australia Resource Assessment program funded by the Australian Government. The project examined major northern catchments identified for future agricultural and water infrastructure expansion, including the Mitchell catchment in Cape York, which contains the Palmer River and a range of proposed dam and irrigation development sites.

The Mitchell catchment was assessed for its groundwater, surface water and agricultural development potential, helping build the technical foundation for future irrigation expansion proposals across the region. Similar assessments were undertaken across northern Australia, creating a coordinated pipeline of development-ready catchments. Today, many of the rivers and floodplains examined through the program are facing increasing pressure from dams, irrigation schemes, groundwater extraction and agricultural intensification.

References

• CSIRO Northern Australia Water Resource Assessment
• Mitchell Catchment Resource Assessment Overview

In 2019, the Australian Government established the National Water Grid and National Water Grid Fund to coordinate and finance major water infrastructure projects across Australia. Building on earlier northern development policies, the program focused heavily on dams, irrigation schemes and water extraction projects designed to expand agricultural production and regional economic growth.

While promoted as a nation-building initiative, the National Water Grid has been widely criticised for prioritising large-scale development over river health, climate resilience and First Nations water rights. Across northern Australia, the program has continued directing significant public funding into water infrastructure planning and project development, while longstanding calls for stronger First Nations water governance and cultural water protections remain largely unaddressed.

• National Water Grid Overview
• National Water Grid Fund
• Australian Government National Water Infrastructure Programs

In 2020, Regional Development Australia Tropical North (RDATN) secured $10 million in Commonwealth funding through the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund to prepare a Detailed Business Case for the Lakeland Irrigation Area Scheme. The funding marked a major escalation in public investment toward progressing large-scale irrigation development in Cape York.

At the time, RDATN was chaired by David Kempton, a prominent advocate for northern development and agricultural expansion. Under Kempton’s leadership, RDATN actively promoted the Lakeland scheme as a nationally significant irrigation project, positioning it within the broader National Water Grid agenda focused on expanding water infrastructure across northern Australia.

The Detailed Business Case investigated a proposed dam on the Palmer River and infrastructure capable of dramatically increasing irrigated agriculture in the Lakeland region. By this stage, millions of dollars in public funding had already been directed toward studies, business cases and technical assessments designed to advance water extraction and agricultural expansion across the Mitchell catchment.

In 2021, Jawiyabba Warra Aboriginal Corporation reached out to CAFNEC to raise concerns about the Lakeland Irrigation Area Scheme and the accelerating push for large-scale water development across the Mitchell catchment. Following this, CAFNEC started more focused work supporting Traditional Owners to have their concerns heard and engage in the public process. 

Concerns were also from other Traditional Owners and communities across the region, including from Eastern catchments people who are worried about increased agricultural and sediment runoff flowing into East to increased irrigated agriculture. 

Traditional Owners across the Mitchell catchment also raised concerns about the downstream impacts of dams, groundwater extraction and irrigation expansion on river flows, wetlands, fisheries and culturally significant waterways. These concerns highlighted the growing tension between federally backed irrigation development and the protection of interconnected river systems, and cultural values. 

In 2021, the Productivity Commission released its final inquiry report into Australia’s national water reform framework. The review examined progress under the National Water Initiative and assessed how governments were managing water planning, extraction, environmental protections and Indigenous water interests across the country.

The inquiry found that First Nations peoples remained significantly underrepresented in water decision-making and continued to hold only a very small share of Australia’s water entitlements. It also highlighted ongoing failures to properly incorporate Indigenous cultural objectives into water planning processes. While governments continued investing heavily in new water infrastructure and irrigation expansion, the report reinforced concerns that Indigenous water justice and governance reform were not being advanced at the same pace.

• Productivity Commission National Water Reform Inquiry

In 2020, Regional Development Australia Tropical North (RDATN) secured $10 million in Commonwealth funding through the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund to prepare a Detailed Business Case for the Lakeland Irrigation Area Scheme. The funding marked a major escalation in public investment toward progressing large-scale irrigation development in Cape York.

At the time, RDATN was chaired by David Kempton, a prominent advocate for northern development and agricultural expansion. Under Kempton’s leadership, RDATN actively promoted the Lakeland scheme as a nationally significant irrigation project, positioning it within the broader National Water Grid agenda focused on expanding water infrastructure across northern Australia.

The Detailed Business Case investigated a proposed dam on the Palmer River and associated infrastructure capable of increasing irrigated agriculture in the Lakeland region. The Detailed Business Case found that the Lakeland Irrigation Area Scheme would require $2.5 billion to get up, with 97% of funding from government sources, and with a Benefit Cost Ratio of just 0.13–0.37 its economic and environmental case is weak.

Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water 

• Water Entitlements: There is insufficient unallocated water in the Mitchell Water Plan to meet the project’s needs. The water plan expires in 2027, and while a review could increase available water, there’s no guarantee this will happen or meet the project’s full requirements.
• Geological Conditions: Geological conditions at the dam site are not fully understood, having only been investigated by a relatively small number of boreholes, but issues are possible due to the known location
  of the Palmer River Fault and rock conditions that showed high water losses under testing.
• Fish Transfer Arrangements: Plans for fish transfer at the dam are not finalised. Proposed solutions include a fish lift and a flushing lock, but costs cannot be confirmed until design options are developed.
• Transfer Tunnel: Only two boreholes have been drilled along the 12 km tunnel route. This limited data raises risks for cost and timeline overruns, despite allowances in the projected costs.
• Distribution System: Changes have been made to the pipeline materials to address risks caused by the high pressures that will occur due to the gravity transfer through the tunnel, although further consideration will be needed to determine whether the risks have been fully addressed
• Economic Viability: The project’s high construction costs and low economic benefits pose significant challenges. The benefit-cost ratio is estimated between 0.13 and 0.37, meaning only a small fraction of the capital cost will be recovered. The project does not meet cost recovery expectations and would require substantial grants and subsidies

References

• Lakeland Irrigation Area Scheme – RDA Tropical North
• Lakeland Irrigation Area Business Case and Approvals
• Advance Cairns – Lakeland Irrigation Area Scheme

In 2024, David Kempton stepped down as Chair of Regional Development Australia Tropical North (RDATN), marking the end of a period in which the organisation played a central role in advancing the Lakeland Irrigation Area Scheme through successive stages of Commonwealth-funded planning and business case development.

During Kempton’s tenure, RDATN was closely involved in positioning Lakeland as a priority irrigation development, securing and managing funding through the National Water Grid. His leadership coincided with a broader push to translate earlier feasibility work into a detailed investment-ready proposal for large-scale water infrastructure in Cape York.

His departure came after the completion of the Detailed Business Case process, which had been built on years of publicly funded studies across the Mitchell River catchment. The project remained a focal point in ongoing debates about northern water development, cumulative catchment impacts and the role of public funding in enabling large-scale irrigation expansion.

In 2025, David Kempton was elected as the State Member for Cook. During his election campaign, he made a public commitment to provide $190,000 in funding support to the Lakeland Growers Association, following concerns from growers that they had not been adequately engaged in the Detailed Business Case process led by Regional Development Australia Tropical North.

This commitment occurred alongside wider concerns about the Lakeland Irrigation Area Scheme process, where both agricultural stakeholders and Traditional Owner groups raised issues about consultation for the Detailed Business Case. For Traditional Owners concerns centred on how water allocation decisions were shaping the future of Country, with the catchment effectively being positioned to supply water to support agricultural expansion in Lakeland due to the lack of available water in Lakeland, at an impact to culture and nature.

The result was an increasingly contested process over who has influence over water management and the future aspirations for the Mitchell catchment, with ongoing concerns that affected Traditional Owners were not being given equivalent voice in decisions that directly impact their Country.

In 2025, the Queensland Government commenced a review of the Mitchell River Water Plan, reopening consideration of water allocation rules, environmental flow objectives and potential future development scenarios across the catchment. The review is significant because it directly influences how much water can be extracted from the Mitchell River catchment for agriculture, including irrigation proposals linked to the Lakeland region.

The process has implications for both existing water users and Traditional Owner groups whose Country and cultural values are embedded in the river system. For many across the catchment, the review represents a critical moment in determining whether future water planning will prioritise large-scale agricultural expansion or more strongly recognise ecological limits, cultural water rights and long-term sustainability of the Mitchell system.

Both CAFNEC and Traditional Owners concerned about the protection of water in the Mitchell Catchment are engaged in the review.

In 2025, the Queensland Government advanced a new “Unlocking Water” agenda aimed at identifying and accelerating water infrastructure opportunities to support agricultural and regional development across the state. The initiative aligns with broader northern Australia policy settings that prioritise expanding irrigation, improving water storage, and enabling new areas of land to be brought into production.

In the context of the Mitchell River catchment and the Lakeland Irrigation Area Scheme, the “Unlocking Water” approach reinforces ongoing pressure to make more water available for consumptive use, even as catchment planning processes and Traditional Owner concerns continue to highlight ecological limits, cultural values, and questions about long-term sustainability.