Media Release

In last night’s budget debates in Federal Parliament, KAP Member for Kennedy asked the Government to invest in northern development and not, “hurdy-gurdies, merry-go-rounds, function centres in the big cities and football stadiums.”

Mr Katter also railed against Australia’s aggressive uneven playing field, the unfair tax system and housing affordability.

As he has in Parliament on numerous occasions, Mr Katter made a case to the Government to invest in development infrastructure to, “develop the resources of this nation.”

Mr Katter referred to the Hell’s Gate Dam and the Galilee Rail line proposals, Title Deeds for First Australians, Ethanol mandate and the Transport Canal on the NT / Qld border.

In his speech to the House, Mr Katter said:

“Well, the party is now over. Nearly half of our entire income in this nation is now down to two items: iron ore and coal.

“… give us a railway line into the Galilee, a lousy little 320-kilometre line—when I was in Government in Qld, for nearly 20 years we were laying 360 kilometres every year out of the public purse, but there has not been a single kilometer by the ALP in Qld, the so called ‘workers' friend.’

“And, of course, for the Liberals it is against their principles, their philosophy and their religion to expend public moneys on developmental infrastructure.

“They will spend it on hurdy-gurdies, merry-go-rounds, function centres in the big cities and football stadiums to win votes. But will they spend it on a railway line so that we can open up the Galilee coalfields? No! What is that worth to the Australian economy? It is worth $16 billion a year. That is the immediate income from the Galilee.

“You build Hells Gate Dam, you get $2 billion a year. You give us that little bit of on-farm irrigation that we need on each cattle station and give the First Australians title deeds, and we will give you $5 billion extra in cattle income.

“You give us a tiny little canal to get our phosphate fertiliser out, we will give you $4 billion.

“With these things, and with title deeds for our First Australians, we will give you $5 billion in silicone and $2 billion or $3 billion in prawn and fish production.

“But, no, the government of Australia thinks it is better to spend $25 billion a year to buy oil from the Middle East instead of producing that oil ourselves—oil called ethanol.”

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