General News
11 June, 2025
Katter meeting draws a solid crowd of concerned citizens
The state and federal MPs provided an update to members of the Mount Isa community.
Robbie Katter will lead an emergency delegation to Canberra in the coming weeks as the political leaders pledge to deploy all possible tactics to overcome the looming economic woes confronting Mount Isa.
About 70 people gathered at the Barkly Hotel on Friday night to hear an update from Traeger MP Robbie Katter and his father, Kennedy MP Bob Katter, about the challenges along the Mount Isa to Townsville supply chain.
One person quipped that attendance numbers were impacted by the decision to host the meeting at the same time as the Cowboys match.
In a 90-minute meeting that had few discernible outcomes but was filled with strong community support for real policy action, the Katters moved to reassure Mount Isa residents that despite the MICO closure, stalled CopperString project and threats to shut the smelter, the long-term prospects for the city were still positive.
However, Robbie Katter said there may be some short-term pain in the meantime.
“I don’t want to tell everyone that everything is going to be good – we have got some real hurdles we have to overcome,” he told the audience.
“But all my life investment is right here in Mount Isa – I’m here for the long haul – and I honestly believe we are going to come out of this fine, but it is not going to come easy.
“We have every right to believe there is going to be a bright future out here.”
A constant theme of the night was the sheer volume of minerals waiting to be extracted from the North West, estimated to be worth at least $680 billion, was the region’s security that would force a strong policy response from Brisbane and Canberra.
Bob Katter repeated his long-held mantra that any money provided to Glencore to keep the copper smelter operating must include the mining giant surrendering some equity of the asset to either government or suppliers.
Robbie Katter also maintained there was a string of mining companies willing to take over any of the resource projects in the region that failed to serve its social license, including the Mount Isa Mines lease itself.
“For a pretty small population with a pretty small voting public, the government is still investing in this region, and they know if this region suffers then the entire state will tip over,” he told the captive audience.
When community members were given the opportunity to speak, issues raised included concerns over the price of gas as a never-ending hindrance to development, the need to lift the moratorium on uranium mining, a desire to see more support for local manufacturing and calls to address the mental health needs of retiring or retrenched MICO miners.
At least one worker stood to remind residents that the lead and zinc assets on the Mount Isa Mines lease were still going strong, with George Fisher expanding both its workforce and quota targets.
Robbie Katter said local residents could help lobbying efforts by challenging any misinformation about the region they saw on social media.
The meeting concluded with Bob Katter telling the gathering that Robbie Katter would lead a delegation to federal parliament to meet with Minister for Resources Madeleine King and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“I will be in the room, but Robbie is the one who should be leading this delegation,” he said.