The Queensland Government has rejected Commonwealth funding for dam feasibility studies.

The Palaszczuk Government’s move appears to have stumped Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who says he wanted to hand over $20 million for feasibility studies into 14 Queensland water projects.

Deals between federal and state governments for dam feasibility studies are in the works for NSW, Victoria and South Australia, while deals in the Northern Territory and Western Australia could be signed within a week.

Mr Joyce said it was odd that Queensland had made itself the only mainland state not to take up the offer.

Mr Joyce accused Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk of pandering to the Greens.

“Unfortunately we have had to deal with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who is not progressing any of these dams — none of them,” he said this week.

“In fact, she is spending a lot more time arguing with one of her colleagues, Ms Trad, about who is going to be the next premier of Queensland than about actually advancing the issues for Queensland.

“Although we have put $19.8 million on the table for 14 studies, not one of them has been started.

“And not only have we put money on the table for the studies but we put $130 million on the table to start Rookwood Weir so we can get further jobs to that area, an extra $1 billion a year in income for the people of Central Queensland.

“But there has been neither sight nor sound of what Queensland intends to do. The Queensland Labor Party has basically gone to sleep on us.”

But State Water Minister Mark Bailey described the Deputy Prime Minister’s claims as being “weak as water”.

“Despite Barnaby Joyce telling Queensland that he had chosen the projects, he delayed the announcement for his own political purposes — waiting opportunistically to announce them during the lengthy eight week Federal election campaign,” Mr Bailey said.

“We could have been expediting the contracts with proponents during this time.”

But Mr Joyce may soon be distracted by a much larger stoush; wrangling criticism over his refusal to produce cost/benefit documents for his controversial public service relocation plans.