Media Release

AMID reports the Federal Government is strongly considering an appeal of the Live Export decision handed down by the Federal Court in favour of the cattle industry, Kennedy MP Bob Katter has said that such a move would bring ongoing shame to the Liberal National Government.

Ministers in the government have said that the precedence from the decision will unnecessarily restrain government power.

Mr Katter said this is exactly what the decision is supposed to do.

“Magna Carta said: 'Mr King, you no longer can do what you like. You do not have unlimited discretionary powers. There's none of this absolute monarchy anymore,” he said during a speech in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

“You can't just go in there and destroy the licence value of every taxi owner in Australia. You can't do that. You can't destroy the livelihood of every cattleman in Australia anymore. You can't just decide, on a whim, to destroy the income of every dairy farmer in Australia anymore. No. You are subject to the law.”

Mr Katter said it was again time for Nationals MPs to stand up to the Liberals, but he’s not holding out hope knowing their track record – especially considering the deregulation and destruction of every agricultural industry in the country.

“Well, Australia has moved so far away from that concept that we have leaders in the government—very good people; I know them and I like and respect them—saying something that is against Magna Carta. It is against every concept of British justice,” he said.

“The government, the cabinet, the executive—whatever word you want to use, it is the Crown. That is the word we use as the generic term to refer to the people who have the executive power. Once upon a time it was a bloke called a King. We English-speaking people—many of my forebears amongst them—died, but we cut the heads off of monarch after monarch after monarch that defied that principle. I hope the Australian people cut your head off, Mr Government.”

—ENDS—