Media Release

“Truly God’s Country” was how Bob Katter, KAP Leader and Federal Member for Kennedy, described the Gulf Country after his trip north this week, but worryingly he added that the area was still facing a significant number of potentially debilitating issues.

Mr Katter travelled the Gulf of Carpentaria this week with State Member for Mount Isa, Robbie Katter, meeting with local councils, business groups, local progress associations, business owners and northern cattlemen about the issues facing the far flung north.

Problems around secure potable water supply, communications, irrigation, local road funding and local workers for works contracts dominated conversations, with funding for infrastructure projects largely uncertain.

In Normanton the Carpentaria Shire Council’s proposal to build a weir to secure their water supply will cost $12 million. Georgetown has proposed the Charleston Dam Project, which at $20 million would service water for both Forsayth and Georgetown. The Council is prepared to contribute 70 percent of their rates income, a sign of the significance of the project to the towns.

But both of these projects require a significant amount of further funding from Government to get them off the ground and Councils’ small rate payer base makes it difficult for them to raise significant capital.

“Our towns are grossly short of water and you can’t have a town without a water supply,” Bob Katter said.

“The situation is critical in the Gulf, in Normanton, Karumba, Croydon, Forsayth and Georgetown to name a few. And it’s well known that Forsayth had to cart water in last year.

“The water schemes have to be addressed and have to be addressed now. All of these towns have got shovel ready projects ready to go.

“Every water scheme in Queensland has in the past been overwhelmingly paid for by Government. To let these little places starve and go short of water is near enough to criminal negligence.

“They’re talking about Northern Development, well people are galloping away from these Gulf towns because there’s not even enough water to keep the people here.

“And if we abandon the Gulf, do you think the rest of the world is just going to leave this land empty? As sure as the sun rises tomorrow, a people without land will look for a land without people.”

Mr Katter said that communications in the Gulf was also dire, and placed the blame squarely on privatisation.

“We said, when you privatise Telstra, there’ll be no services at all, and that’s exactly what’s occurred.

“Privatisation enabled the Government to walk away from a responsibility that they’ve had to people in the country since this nation began.

“The Gulf towns are screaming out for communications, businesses can’t compete with their city rivals without them.

“We’ve got the NBN now going past towns like Georgetown and Julia Creek, but they’re not plugged into the NBN.”

The Burke Shire Council has proposed a $4.4 million project that would connect fibre optic cabling between Doomadgee and Burketown, securing communications into the indefinite future. The Council is prepared to contribute $2.2 million to the project, which at over 50 percent of their income from rates again demonstrates the significance of the project to the community.

Mr Katter has requested a meeting with the Communications Minister next week to urgently raise the issue.

Further north, Mr Katter said that First Australian communities simply didn’t have enough money to stay alive.

“At both Mornington Island and Doomadgee people haven’t got enough money to stay alive, they’re living in grinding poverty.

“Every single council member in both places has a close relative dying of diabetes, which is just another name for malnutrition.

“These places need three vital things, the first being a restoration of the market gardens which previously existed.

“Second, title deeds. You can’t borrow money without security. With Native Title we say they own the land, but they don’t, in reality it’s all a glorified National Park. Because if you don’t have a title deed to the land then you can’t go and borrow money from the bank to buy cattle, to buy a business, to make money.

“And third, they need access to water for irrigation, which is an issue for all of the Gulf communities.”

Mr Katter blames excessive spending in Brisbane which means that vital projects in the North are being neglected.

“Moneys for all of these projects are desperately needed, yet you have the appalling, sickening, extravagance of spending in Brisbane.

“There are two kilometers of pleasure domes on the South bank, at maybe $5,000 million. They have 200 or 300 overpasses as well as 21 kilometers worth of tunnels at around $21,000 million. They’ve got $300 million for football stadiums and a few hundred million dollars for the Modern Arts Building.

“All whilst communities up here are quite literally starving to death, or in the case of water, dying of thirst,” Mr Katter said.

Attached photo is of Bob Katter, Cr Warren Bethel of Etheridge Shire Council (which takes in Georgetown and Forsayth) and Robbie Katter (photo credit Anne Pleash).