Katter tells Seeney – Go back to history school
The Member for Mount Isa Robbie Katter today urged Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney to hit the history books after his embarrassing gaff about Mount Isas value to Queensland.
I raised a fairly simple question in Parliament asking if Mr Seeney thought spending $24 million on a road in Townsville, a centre which delivers no mining royalties, was better value than spending $7 million on a water purification and effluent recycling plant in Mount Isa a city which delivers nearly $90 million per year into the governments coffers.
His response was evasive, incorrect and insulting to me and the people of the Mount Isa Electorate.
Mr Seeney said the Royalties to the Regions project is used to address growth pressures in areas where the resources sector is growing; and Mount Isa is not one of those.
Thats an astonishing statement given Xstrata Mount Isa Mines won the 2010 Australian Export Awards in the Minerals and Energy category in recognition of a 22% increase in exports in the 2010 financial year to $2.3 billion.

Xstrata Mount Isa Mines also received the Premiers Export Awards as Queenslands Exporter of the Year in the Minerals and Energy category in 2010, 2008 and 2002 as MIM Holdings.
In 2009 Xstrata won the Premier of Queenslands Smart Business Award.
Premier Anna Bligh presented the company with the Retrospective/Overall Award at a ceremony marking the eve of Queensland’s 150th birthday, and acknowledged Xstrata as a Queensland success story which continues to make a positive impact on our economy and on the lives of Queenslanders. So, instead of ignorantly and arrogantly dismissing investment in Mount Isa as unnecessary, surely a responsible, bipartisan and forward-thinking government should be investing in infrastructure for a return to high levels of resource mining activity.
Mr Seeney has been very keen to put his hands out for the royalties which he then spends largely on the Governments precious south east corner.
Mr Seeney told the House the Royalties for the Regions is a program put in place to fund projects in communities that are dealing with growth pressures from the resources sector.
Surely the pressures of an ageing water and sewerage infrastructure and the pressure of mining on this citys flagging water supplies would have qualified the Mount Isa City Councils bid for just $7 million for a valuable water saving facility?
What do we have to do to fill in the gaps to Mr Seeneys limited knowledge?
People in this Mount Isa electorate are naturally furious at his belligerent and dismissive behaviour towards us.
If Mr Seeney wants this region to continue to drive industry development in the state for another 90 years, hed better adjust his personality and start thinking a bit smarter, said Mr Katter.