a My; Minister for Main Roads, Road Safety and Ports E?f?fnilf?ei? Minister for Energy and Water Supply Our Reference: 30402115 2 1 JAN 2015 GPO Box 2644 Brisbane Queensland 4001 Australia Telephone +61 7 3719 7300 Honourabl? Barnaby Jche Facsimile +61 7 3224 2493 Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Email PO BOX 6022 Website Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 o. DearM 'ster Re: National Water Infrastructure Development Fund Thank you for your letter of 8 December 2015. I am very pleased to hear that applications from Queensland proponents, forwarded via the Department of Energy and Water Supply (DEWS) directly to the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, will be accepted and considered for funding. I believe that this process best supports both Queensland applications and the Australian Government as it allows the proponents, who understand their proposals most clearly, to put these forward directly to the decision making body. Based on the contact that has already been made from proponents across Queensland, I anticipate that there will be a large number of applications for proposals in the state. Pleasingly, the feedback that has been received from Queensland applicants strongly supports the process that is being followed. i am also very pleased to see that you recognise the value that additional technical commentary from Queensland Government agencies will add, and in particular, how it will enable your expert technical panel to make informed decisions on the applications they will be considering. That additional information will be provided through DEWS as soon as possible after applications have been received by the Queensland Government. Because of the very short timeframes for proponents to make their applications, it is highly likely that many will not be received by DEWS until close to the deadline date. Nevertheless, the Queensland Government?s technical commentary, which will be a collated summary of information from across multiple agencies, will be provided as soon as possible after applications have been received. i would like to emphasise that whilst the Queensland Government will be forwarding all applications it receives this does not indicate any formal endorsement or support for particular projects nor any indication of an order of preference. Should the Queensland Government wish to provide any additional supplementary information on state priorities this may also be provided by the end of February 2016. Mark Bailey MP Minister for Ma'n Roads, Road Safety and Ports and Minister for Energy, Biofuels and Water Supply Page 1 of1