Bring on a State plebiscite to create the new State of North Queensland
KAP’s Robbie Katter and Shane Knuth have called the LNP a disgrace after they confirmed they will sell out North Queensland and pass the budget as is, without any negotiation.
Robbie and Shane asked the government for four basic things to address the current crisis in North Queensland. Robbie and Shane and the rest of the crossbench said they would vote against the budget if the government refused to come to the negotiating table.
“North Queensland is in crisis. The government should be ashamed of itself for not agreeing to these four very reasonable requests,” Robbie said. “Even more shameful is that the LNP had an opportunity to stand with us to force the government to listen, but instead they’ve decided to sell out North Queensland and rubber stamp the budget.”
Robbie and Shane requested four urgent actions to support North Queensland, which faces unemployment rates as high as 14%, compared with unemployment of about 4% in Brisbane:
1. Power prices reduced by 5%
2. Commit to reducing North Queensland unemployment to 6% by 2020
3. Commit unspent infrastructure funding to North Queensland to kick start the economy
4. Set up a North Queensland Budget Equity Board
Shane Knuth said he was disgusted, but not surprised, with the government and LNP. “I wish I could say I was surprised, but I’m not,” Shane said. “I was excited because we had a real chance to make some change for North Queensland, but we needed support from either the government or LNP to make it happen, and neither of them would step up to the plate. They should hang their heads in shame,” Shane said.
Robbie said he was shocked the major parties wouldn’t consider KAP’s requests. “They’re quite happy to throw billions of dollars at a Brisbane rail project so city people can get home from work earlier, but won’t commit to something as critical as reducing unemployment in the North.
At least we in North Queensland know exactly where we stand with the government and LNP: and that’s on the wrong side of the Brisbane border,” Robbie said.
Robbie and Shane will vote against the budget unless the government accepts their basic requests – which could make an immediate difference to North Queensland.
State budget a lotto win for Brisbane
Robbie Katter says news that the government will spend $2billion on Cross River Rail confirms what people in the North have long been saying: the major parties govern for Brisbane. “It’s never been more important to fight for North Queensland,” Robbie said.
KAP is urging the LNP to join them in standing up for North Queensland. KAP’s Robbie Katter and Shane Knuth have asked the government for four urgent actions to address the crisis in North Queensland:
- Power prices reduced by 5%
- Commit to reducing North Queensland unemployment to 6% by 2020
- Commit unspent infrastructure funding to North Queensland to kick start the economy
- Set up a North Queensland Budget Equity Board
KAP State Leader Robbie Katter said he, Shane, and the rest of the crossbench, would vote against the state budget if the government would not deliver these initiatives for North Queensland.
“If the LNP stands with us, we can make this happen, we can create real change for North Queensland,” Robbie said.
The state treasurer said in his budget speech today “Queenslanders will not forget” if the Federal Treasurer doesn’t commit money to Cross River Rail.
“North Queenslanders will not forget that this government thought $2billion was better spent on a project so city people could get home from work a bit earlier, rather than on infrastructure projects to invest in North Queensland’s future,” Robbie said. “That same $2billion could have seen the rail line out of the Galilee Basin already built, which would produce income for Queensland for decades to come.”
Robbie said comments by the Treasurer in his budget speech that “confidence has made a comeback”, showed how out of touch the government was with life outside of Brisbane.
“In my home town of Mount Isa, confidence is so low in the wake of talk by Glencore of pulling out of its copper operations, people are losing sleep. This is affecting people’s lives, and all we hear from the treasurer is that survey results are good. Well that’s not what’s happening out here in the real world,” Robbie said.
“In other parts of the North, unemployment is as high as 14%. If business confidence was as high as the treasurer claims, we wouldn’t be seeing rates like this.”
Shane Knuth said it made him sick that more wasn’t being done to address unemployment in the North. “Unemployment in Brisbane is around 4%. If unemployment rates were as high in the big city as they are up North, the government would drop everything to fix the problem. Instead we see them drop $2bn on a project in an electorate with 4% unemployment.
What a joke. If they care about North Queensland and making a change, they will agree to our request to reducing unemployment in the North to 6% by 2020. And I expect the LNP to show some backbone and stand with us to make this happen,” Shane said.
I live in tropical North Queensland and I totally understand why SEQLD is priority, 4 million people live there compared to a few hundred thousand up here. Splitting the state would cause some many issues, reissue of updated drivers licences, rego plates plus others queensland state items. So if it does happen I hope all these changes will be free of charge.
Wonderful comments thank you Doreen. We appreciate some reasoned logic from Brisvegas. Ed
As a near Brisbane resident I feel your pain FNQ. There should be equivalent funds spent on the other areas of the state. Should this be on a per capita basis? Should this be revenue based?
Don’t be thinking that ‘everyone’ in Brisbane will benefit from this mega-bucks rail spend though!
This Cross River Rail Link does nothing to alleviate a current situation with bus and rail transport not being properly linked for many non-core areas. Apparently it is OK to forego basic personal safety guidelines and be walking several hundred metres to different streets in the middle of the night, in an area of tall buildings that are office blocks, old factories etc. and thus is deserted during non-business hours . . . in an area I remember being told to avoid years ago! Couple this with Brisbane City Council actively discouraging provision of parking facilities, in their quest to coerce people to utilise public transport. So, sorting out these accesses before they go spending mega-bucks on shaving a few minutes of time off the commutes of the lucky folk working in mainstream zones makes far more sense!!
Being located in a small sector of a ‘mega-council’ that the Qld State Government created some years ago, we see other sectors of our region getting grand infrastructure improvements whilst we are treated as ‘poor relations’, receiving only basic shed-type structures!! We relate to being passed over, forgotten, shafted or similar – take your pick!
Goodday Bev, thanks for your comments. Yes the LNP are a strange lot. They want to hold government in the next parliament, but to our editorial panel it looks like they do not deserve it. Again and again they desert the Far North but when it comes to election time they go begging cap-in-hand asking the long-suffering voters of the Tablelands to support them. The LNP had their chance but sold us out at every opportunity. They even pulled up the railway line between Atherton and Mareeba when in government! If you look at the few remaining identities of the Atherton CBD, LNP hierarchy, and their business acumen, we ask, who in all conscience could vote for the LNP? We mean just look at the so-called intelligentsia that demonised the previous Tablelands Shire Council. If they are representative of the Liberal Party then God help us. Readers continually tell us that the MP in Atherton Shane Knuth is the best they have ever had after the One Nation lady, Rosa Leelong. One of our correspondents filed a story about Shane Knuth getting $70m for the Atherton Hospital upgrade. This would be unprecedented in Queensland for a single, independent non-government member to achieve. Our Tablelands readers tell us they are ever grateful for Shane Knuth. We should add that Bob Katter, when the ALP needed the support of the independents to govern, actually got in behind the Liberals and left Oakshott and Windsor to sell us out. We remember seeing an article in the Cairns Post about the $450m that Katter got for the Portsmith overpass in Cairns during the Rudd government. In fact we drove over it last week. – Robert J Lee, Editor
Well – how ironical – now Katter Australia Party complains about LNP in Qld parliament re Budget!!!
KAP were the ones who were going to hold the Labor party to ransom.
What did BOB KATTER himself do for north Queensland when he had EVERY OPPORTUNITY in a HUNG parliament when He and the big time independents held balance of power in the Federal Parliament in 2010.
Rob Oakeshott, Andrew Wilkie and Tony Windsor did alright fior the electorates but BOB Katter got nought for us.
So who is he or they to whinge about this lot?
Yes – I agree North Queensland is in dire straits but do not blame the LNP. Robbie and Shane were going to be the saviours.
B. Prescott
PO Box 792
TOLGA. 4882 n.q.
What did you expect from a bunch of Cock-suckers