Media Release

When Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull meets British Prime Minister Theresa May today he hopes to secure a “strong” free trade agreement between Australia and Britain. KAP Member for Kennedy believes Australia will only end up worse off and “political interference” is not required to take advantage of #Brexit trade opportunities.

Mr Katter said, “We are the weakest trading nation on earth and we should despise free trade deals. Free trade deals are the ceding of our sovereignty.

“Free trade deals have proved disastrous for Australia. Every single report that’s come out indicates Australia comes off second best.

“Our leaders are so mind numbingly stupid they actually think that a free trade deal wins them votes in Australia. When Prime Minister Abbott stood up and signed a free trade deal with China, he was gone within five or six weeks. Hardly the stuff of winning the hearts and minds.

“The British have made their statement with #Brexit. We as a nation have to grow up and cease to be an economic colony.

“I think the UK offers splendid opportunities for our beef our sugar and to a lesser extent our dairy products.

“Effectively sugar was not allowed into the EU. I will be seeking discussion with Queensland Sugar Limited to move aggressively to capture this market. The deal should not be with government, the deal is with purchasers of sugar in Great Britain, and the soft drink manufactures, the supermarket retailers, the confectionary manufactures. We don’t need political interference.

“Britain joining the EU saw around 25 per cent of Australia’s beef exports vanish overnight, collapsing our beef market to the point where I missed the sale day in Julia Creek where a competitor of mine bought 1000 cows for a dollar a head, they’d been $70 the year before. That was the damage of Britain going into the EU, whilst the benefits won’t be as great with them coming out; it is still wonderful news for the consumers of Great Britain. They’ll get their sugar at half the price they’ve been paying and their beef with a very formidable drop in price indeed.”