Media Release

AUSTRALIAN Party Federal leader Bob Katter has condemned the Bligh Government and LNP Opposition for spending the final weeks of Parliament passing laws to ban most pocket knives, introduce same sex marriage and spy on Queenslanders.

"But it gets worse – the government now has drones circling our skies, spying on fishermen trying to enjoy the outdoors.

"And now they have also announced a secret spy camera to follow us on land."

"When maybe one in two businesses in the state is on struggle street, the Government of Queensland chooses to spend the money it has on spying on its people instead of helping them, or catching criminals."

Mr Katter said Queensland had become the most oppressive western regime outside of England, and things were getting worse every day as both mainstream political parties restricted people’s freedoms.

"George Orwell’s book 1984 released in the 1960s was a horror story, but now it is a brutal reality," he said.

"The Government can fund multi-million-dollar hardware to use against its own people when at the same time they can’t even provide the resources to protect their citizens against continuous home invasions."

Mr Katter said the Australian Party has announced the ban on spy flying, and the Australian Party MPs proudly opposed the recent ban on pocket knives and further restrictions on sporting shooters.

Mr Katter said the LNP, in sharp contrast, had its leader declare he was proudly for same sex marriage; and then his party, under his direction, crossed the floor to vote with the ALP for the bans on pocket knives.

"How un-Australian. The people in the black uniforms are with the Greens on taking control.

"Never mind ‘nanny state’... It’s ‘evil stepmother’ here. Even boiling a billy after a walk through the bush can put you in breach of multiple petty regulations. It’s 1984 Orwell, not Australia."