Media Release

KAP Federal Leader and Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has greeted the 2013 Federal Budget with mixed reviews – lamenting a “no action – it’s not our fault” reference to the artificially-high Australian dollar that is “murdering” this nation’s industry and families, whilst welcoming the retention of funding for visionary nation-building projects in the Kennedy electorate despite the belt-tightening.

Mr Katter welcomed the retention in this year’s Budget of $350m for the proposed Townsville-Mount Isa power line (despite the Qld Government’s continued refusal to support this northern lifeline) – a project that would deliver thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars to the North Qld and Australian economy by linking the world-class North West Minerals Province to the National Electricity Grid.

Mr Katter also welcomed confirmation of $2.5m for a commercial report on generating renewable power at Pentland, west of Townsville. He said it was “a small but clear statement of the commitment to this great project”, which involves the proposed damming of Australia’s third-biggest river, the Burdekin, to open up over 100,000ha of irrigable canefields, which will in turn produce ethanol and fuel electricity production, thereby ensuring the viability of agriculture, coal and mining in the Galilee Basin.

“This commercial report will be overseen by a steering committee made up of representatives from Townsville Enterprise, Mackay Sugar, Guildford Coal, the relevant local and state government representation and MITEZ,” said Mr Katter.

Another welcome capital works feature includes $633m for flood-proofing and safety upgrades at Bruce Hwy trouble spots including Cattle and Frances creeks south of Ingham; and $24m for widening between Ingham and Home Hill.

“But on the negatives, still no money for one of the Bruce Hwy’s most deadly sections – the Silkwood-Kurrimine crossroads, which has caused hundreds of accidents and near-misses over the years,” warned Mr Katter.

“What we also needed was a complete reconstruction of the Flinders Highway west of Hughenden and significantly more money for bridges to enable a more reliable and safer transit for truck drivers heading between Mount Isa and Townsville. The highway, particularly Hughenden to Julia Creek, is simply disastrous in spite of Shane Knuth and Robbie Katter’s increasing aggression.

“I am also disappointed to see billions for capital city roads, rail and ports in next five years while there’s nothing in the budget for the utterly atrocious roads between Tully and Innisfail. Each time there is a downpour of rain, potholes appear every few meters.”

Meanwhile, Mr Katter welcomed a $99m Farm Household Allowance as part of the National Drought Reform Program, which builds on the $420m for concessional loans recently announced under the Farm Finance Package to help address Australia’s rapidly-escalating rural debt crisis.

This new funding provides farming families in hardship with access to the dole (Newstart rate) for three years – replacing both the Transitional Farm Family Payment that was available for only one year and was subject to stricter eligibility requirements; and the Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payment available only to farmers in declared areas.

But Mr Katter warned that the conditions on receiving the Farm Household Allowance could prove too onerous for farmers already struggling to survive; and urged farmers having difficulty accessing the payment to contact his office.

Mr Katter was also pleased at Budget projections that:-

• almost 3000 Kennedy constituents stood to benefit from the new national disability insurance scheme;
• more than 11,000 Kennedy pensioners would be eligible to sell their homes in favour of buying a smaller home or unit without their pensions being affected by means-testing of the proceeds;
• more than 1500 Kennedy children would benefit from an extra $40m for after-school activities;
• almost 9000 Kennedy people receiving welfare payments would be able to earn more from work before their welfare payments were scaled back; and
• individuals and groups in the Kennedy electorate would receive up to $23,500 a year for a program encouraging people aged 25 and under in creative, cultural, academic and community events or training.

Mr Katter also welcomed the release in this year’s budget of tourism grant funding for the installation of a water park at Kurrimine Beach Holiday Park; a project to develop a design for a Wet Tropics Visitor Centre at Mission Beach; and the upgrade of tourism facilities at the Robin Hood Station in the Gulf.

There was also further funding to update internet kiosks and assistance for seniors at Ravenshoe Community Centre, Herberton Library, Community Services Tablelands Family Support House, Carinya Home for the Aged, Tablelands Regional Council Community Support Service and The Hub, Mareeba PCYC, Croydon Municipal Library, Warrina Innisfail Villanova Centre, Tully Nursing Home, Forrest Beach Senior Citizens Hall, Canossa Home Trebonne, Cardwell Care Incorporated, Burke Shire Library, Boulia Shire Council Library, Mount Isa PCYC, Mount Isa Family Support Service and Neighbourhood Centre, Mount Isa Community Development Association, Mount Isa City Library, Julia Creek Library, Flinders Shire Library, Greenvale & District Senior Citizens Club, and the Charters Towers 60 and Better Program Wheeler House.

Meanwhile, among the national initiatives that, on the face of it, Mr Katter expressed scepticism on, are:-

• $100m for projects to reduce insurance premiums , because southern flood areas have been prioritised over the cyclone-prone north, which has been hit hardest by skyrocketing premiums since Larry and Yasi;
• $1.8b to take away another 450 gigalitres of Murray-Darling irrigation water, on top of the existing 2750 gigalitres already being ‘returned to the environment’;
• $95m over five years for Tasmanian forestry licence buy-backs;axing the baby bonus, which will leave about 28,000 stay-at-home mums with no government support;
• a ‘band-aid solution’ in establishing an anti-dumping commission to combat a flood of foreign imports, with Mr Katter reiterating his call for WTO emergency tariffs to be imposed on imports that, combined with the high $AUD, were destroying Australian industries;
• $200m for the ‘reef rescue’ program being imposed on farmers who are struggling to meet burdensome regulations;$300m in cuts to a program that supports coal mining jobs while $42m is being given to Antarctic Climate Change Research;
• $2m of cuts to biosecurity programs that protect Australia from plant and animal disease threats; and
• insufficient allocations of a mere $3.4m over four years to crack down on 457 visa foreign worker breaches; as well as about $200m extra to process illegal boat arrivals

“We don’t want to spend more money dealing with 457s. We don’t want them investigated, we want them stopped. And we want the self-smugglers stopped,” said Mr Katter.

In conclusion, Mr Katter said that the government – before and after this year’s election – needed to focus on the high Australian dollar rather than achieving a surplus. “And when you’re expending money, please spend it on things that will make Australia more prosperous and will provide jobs for our people.”