Abolition of advisory body criticised after Morrison government promises $5.9bn for Queensland dams

Anthony Whealy QC says the budget announcements for dams and uncertainty around those projects should be a cause for concern. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

The costs of the federal government’s commitment to fund dams in Queensland without the scrutiny of a now-abolished national advisory body should be a cause for concern for the community, a former supreme court judge says.

Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce disbanded the National Water Grid Advisory Body this week, claiming it was “an appropriate time for it to conclude its work”.