Barnaby Joyce tags $500m for Queensland dam despite lack of environmental approvals

The Morrison government has allocated more than $22m to cover costs associated with developing a business case and assessing regulatory requirements. Photograph: Jeff Tan

Barnaby Joyce has earmarked close to $500m to build the Urannah Dam in central Queensland, despite the project not yet securing environmental approvals and several studies suggesting the idea is not economically viable.

The proposal, long championed by the Queensland Nationals, has been around since the 1960s and a number of feasibility studies have queried the viability of the project.