ALEXANDER Stewart - a local Federal Election candidate of Clive Palmer's United Australia Party - wants to see a "decent" dam on the Macleay River, arguing it would mitigate flooding at Kempsey.
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Mr Stewart, who is standing for the seat of Cowper, has called for visionary water and electricity schemes, including nuclear power.
"Both sides of politics have been incompetent and ineffective in regards to electricity prices and water, especially in the damage that they have done to the people and the agriculture of the Murray-Darling Basin," said Mr Stewart, who has been appointed as 'Water Minister' in the UAP's 'shadow cabinet'.
"What a disgrace that both sides of politics have banned nuclear-powered electricity. Australia has some of the world's biggest reserves of uranium and exports large amounts of uranium to provide cheap electricity overseas yet they won't allow us to use our own uranium for our own electricity.
"A nuclear power station could be sited at Mount Isa or east of Tenterfield or north-east of Armidale.
"It would be cheaper than the ridiculous Snowy 2.0 and far more effective.
"We can also build some good medium-size dams in Cowper and adjacent electorates, with hydro-electricity generation and perhaps nuclear power included with them.
Mr Stewart said he had come from a 50-year career in engineering, which included 12 years in senior environmental positions in what is now called the EPA.
"For example, the Upper Clarence scheme would stop flooding of Grafton, divert lots of good water westwards, and provide intermittent hydro-electricity to help cope with peak demands," he said.
"And we should investigate a nuclear power station east of Tenterfield to take water across from the dams on the Nymboida, Mann, Upper Clarence, Timbarra rivers or even north-east of Armidale to take water from dams in Cowper linked by pipelines built with Australian steel and ingenuity.
"Decent dams on the Wilsons, Macleay and Hastings Rivers would stop the floods that devastated Lismore, Kempsey and Port Macquarie.
"I argue for the Oaky River Dam (owned by Essential Energy) to be brought back into action generating hydro-electricity, and it would reduce flooding in the Macleay River, and help Kempsey."
