Archibald pushes for dam

One Nation’s Pilbara candidate wants to dam the De Grey River near Marble Bar in an effort to boost jobs and irrigation for pastoral activities.

David Archibald said damming the De Grey River at Doolena Gorge would help realise the Pilbara’s agriculture potential.

“I’ve calculated how much grain the Pilbara could grow based on in its annual flows,” he said.

“The first thing we should do is build a dam at Doolena Gorge and irrigate downstream from that.

“There are other dam sites throughout the Pilbara, which could be utilised and accessed to build up the beef industry apart from some grain.”

The Njamal People’s Trust, traditional owner group of the area in question, failed to respond by time of print.

Mr Archibald has been on the defensive since day one of campaigning, forced to defend controversial comments made about homosexuals, the Stolen Generation and single mothers. In a 2015 Quadrant article, Mr Archibald wrote how single mothers should not receive Government funding because they were “too lazy” to attract and hold a mate.

“These are women too lazy to attract and hold a mate, undoing the work of possible three million years of evolutionary pressure,” he said.

“This will result in a rapid rise in the portion of the population that is lazy and ugly.

“We know what causes pregnancy these days so everyone who gets pregnant outside of marriage is a volunteer. This is an easy one for defunding.”

When asked if he stood by the comments, Mr Archibald explained he meant a particular subculture of single mothers.

“I’m not talking about people whose husbands die, I’m not talking about widows, I’m not talking about orphans,” he said. “I’m talking about people who, as the article said, anyone who gets pregnant outside of marriage is a volunteer.”

Pilbara Greens candidate Brent McKenna said Mr Archibald had no place in modern Australia.