Media Release

KAP Leader and Federal MP for Kennedy, Bob Katter is bitterly disappointed at the findings in the Commission of Audit. In the final days leading up to the budget, Mr Katter speaks candidly about some of the findings.

There has been a lot of debate in the media recently about the aged pension, a topic Mr Katter is very passionate about. He is opposed to the suggestions in the Commission of Audit and believes that the pensioners , who are ‘the battlers’, are already doing it tough, should be left alone.

“The commission of audit is a massive attack upon pensions, it has been the one good thing that the Liberals did – The Howard/Costello Government made it a priority to look after people who were too old to look after themselves. This is a litmus test for a society who wishes to call themselves Christian,” Mr Katter said.

When asked about the privatisation of our assets Mr Katter fervently points out, “The Liberal party policy is selling government assets. The Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme is the greatest achievement of the Australian people – producing around a 10 of our peak load power for free – forever, and the federal Government is going to sell it. One thing is for sure – it won’t be free then.

“Under corporatisation, electricity charges have skyrocketed in eight years; from $859 to $2107 per annum in 2013.

"All the wonderful success of privatisation of the motorways, the bridges and motorways, the toll on the Gateway Bridge was to come off after 20 years, once the bridge had been paid for and interest on the borrowings had been paid.

"The Government sold them – thereby giving themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Queensland LNP to buy votes in the state election.

“Of course, two years later, when the bridge should have been free, crossing the bridge to go to work now costs $45 a week - a tax that is forever and could be set and raised at the discretion of the corporate owners.”

Mr Katter is tenaciously opposed to the privatisation of Government assets, especially Australia Post. “Australia Post is the bench marker and policeman, efficient and effective parcel service, and would be a small but significant blow to the proper functioning of the Australian Economy, and will no doubt impede the flow of goods and services.

“I hope everyone will be living in the cities at this stage, cause if they are not – god help them. Postal charges will destroy them,” Mr Katter said

“When we corporatise the railways, the CEO pays increase and people loose their jobs. For example one CEO’s salary rose from around $300,000 a year, to over $6 million a year after corporatisation. KAP will be mobilising their branches throughout Australia to ensure people fill out the state government’s loaded opinion poll to tell them clearly what he can do with his corporatisation and privatisation. The people own these assets – not the government.”

To quote State Member for Mount Isa, Rob Katter, “When you corporatise an essential service – you give to that corporation, the right to tax you, at whatever level they feel like, for forever.”

Mr Katter said of the forced relocation of unemployed people, “ The forced relocation proposals are fine if they are going for a job – but if there is no job to go to it will be the final annihilation of rural Australia”.

“Moving people out of regional areas because there are no jobs is not the solution for the rising unemployment rates in regional and rural Australia.”

Mr Katter comments on the Commission of Audits suggested cuts in family tax benefits , “The first thing is hits to the family assistance, if young people knew the costs of having children then they would not have children at all.

“The Labor government brought in over 400,000 people last year. The Liberals will bring in nearly 600,000 people. Australians only increase at 150,000 (150,000 deaths, 300,000 births) We must help young people to have children, or vanish as a race.”

The ideas floated in this Commission of Audit do not fly with Mr Katter and he will be opposing the Government on these issues if they are slated in the controversial budget reform in Canberra this week.