Media Release

KAP Leader and Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter slammed the Government on foreign ownership in Parliament yesterday asking if there will be a new regime to stop selling Australia, or is it business as usual, Australia for sale?

Tensions mounted as Mr Katter listed the major foreign owned or run companies, stating that free trade means jobs exported, cheap labour imported.

“The biggest farm in Australia ‘Van Diemen’s dairys’ is 0wned by China, the 2nd biggest ‘Cubbie’ owned by China, the biggest grain farms ‘Nicoletti’ owned by China, biggest farming aggregation ‘Kidmans’ controlled by China, the biggest of all, ‘Ord stage 2 & 3’ owned by China, Australia’s most strategic port, Darwin owned by China, Taxi Hire industry Uber foreign owned, the car manufacturing, glass, textiles, petrol, whitegoods - all gone overseas,” Mr Katter said.

“What has free trade done for us? It gave away the entire coal seam gas reserves of this nation; $23 billion a year was given away. We gave it away for six cents a gigajoule and we bought it back for $16 a gigajoule. In fact, it is cheaper to buy Australian gas in Tokyo and bring it back to Australia than to actually buy it in Australia. That was a magnificent free-trade deal.

“We freed up the wool industry–oh, what a magical achievement; it is now costing the nation $16 billion a year. Ethanol: 'Oh, we must have a level playing field; we must have a free market.' So while Brazil produces ethanol and provides a $4 billion cross subsidy to its sugar industry, we're 'free trading', so we import $23 billion worth of petrol every year instead of producing one litre of petrol of our own, which, of course, we could do tomorrow with ethanol.

“Oh, and we wiped out the entire manufacturing industry of Australia. The car industry alone was $25 million a year. Just in coal seam gas, wool, ethanol and motor vehicles, we have lost $40, $50, $60, $70 billion in just five items.

“Do we have a new regime that won’t continue to sell off Australia, or is it business as usual - Australia for sale?” Mr Katter said.

—ENDS—