Media Release

18 May 2017: KAP Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter has responded to the front page of the Townsville Bulletin today and said the Queensland Premier isn’t interest in solving Townsville’s water crisis; she’s more interested in saving the five ALP seats in the area.

“It’s the most extraordinary piece of deceitful stupidity because what is really going on is the ALP has 5 seats in the Townsville area,” Mr Katter said.

“In a City that has the highest unemployment in Australia and arguably some of the highest crime rates in Australia. It also has no reasonable water supply; the solution to all of these problems clearly is Hell’s Gates with 23,000 permanent jobs.

“The project will make money by creating and selling ethanol (cleaner world) petrol security.

“Algae pond stock feed – absorbing all of the carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity generators, producing almost all of North Queensland (base load) power requirements.

“Let me tell you what you get out of raising Burdekin Falls, what the ALP Government gets is believing that we are stupid North Queenslanders - that they have done something for us.

“No, they have done something to us.

“If you raise Burdekin falls you need all of the water in the Burdekin River to produce tiny, insignificant nothing - 50 megawatts of peak load, that only operates for a few hours a day.

“Hydroelectricity Townville is left with the payments, maintenance and upkeep on the $240 million dollar pipeline – which Queensland Treasury puts at $33 million a year for, forever.

“Treasury says one seventh of the capital costs should be allocated for amortisation, maintenance and repairs under national competition policy.

“Federal and State Government’s impose depreciation on real replacement costing rightly referred to as Depreciated Optimised Replacement Cost (DORC).

“There would not be a dozen jobs required in the hydroelectric side of it.

“The water for expansion which is at most 6 to 7 thousand hectares at the Burdekin and the great Ayr region – can be supplied from Hell’s Gates.

“So what do we get from raising Burdekin Falls?

“A dozen jobs and saddled with a debt of $20 million a year – forever.

“Now what do you get for Hell’s Gate?

“You get 120,000 hectares, you get an area now designated the desert uplands – with a few stunted trees and cattle struggling to stay alive – that will be converted into sugar cane land algae ponds 20,000 hectares of trees for carbon capture and the re-creation of a northern timber industry.

“Hard wood gum trees the new super hybrid spotted gum, arguably North Queensland’s most common tree.

“Five percent of Australia’s petrol climate will be met, providing some fuel security in an emergency, significantly reducing Australia’s carbon emissions.

“And for the first time in 75 years, base load power providing for unlimited industrial expansion in the North.

“A water supply at nil costs, it comes down from the mountains above Paluma – through hydroelectric generators.

“$ 2.3 billion dollars a year in income at the economist’s rule of thumb, 10 jobs per million dollars – 23,000 jobs forever in the Townsville, Charters Towers, Pentland and Ayr quadrant.

“It’s becoming clear now that we have an extremist green QLD Government.

“The Galilee rail-line could be built in two years, Hell’s Gates dam is needed within two years – the QLD Government will never agree to coal mining or irrigation.

“The Government will fail themselves of every opportunity and cut back farming and mining.

“They are the classical bludgerygars. They fly in “twitter, twitter” feet never on the ground and the only concept they have for a job is ‘transfer money’ – classical bludgers!

“This is ‘make-money’ - we produce electricity, cattle feed, clean and pure ethanol. We do all of this, with no carbon emissions.

“They are captured in our algae ponds and our timber – what a magnificent position for North Queensland.

“Will the bludgerygars get their way? And the ALP puppets that purport to represent North Queensland – let’s hope and pray for an early election so they can fly south permanently,” Mr Katter said.