General News
29 May, 2024
Should North Queensland have its own state? Katter re-ignites debate
Robbie Katter has taken to Queensland parliament to push for a separate NQ state.
North Queenslanders and the Australian people are being short changed by the untapped potential of North Queensland, Robbie Katter has declared.
Last week, the KAP leader moved a motion in the Queensland Parliament to take the necessary steps to form a separate state of North Queensland.
“We are sick of being governed from Brisbane 2000km away by southerners with no idea about North Queensland”, Mr Katter said.
“I quote renowned academic Geoffrey Blainey: ‘Australia has created no new state since 1859; the United States in contrast has created close to 20. For a land of this size, we do not have enough states. We thus miss one of the advantages of federalism'.
“Why are we allowing the south east corner of Queensland deny Australia the potential of North Queensland?
“Those down south have no idea where the royalties and revenue that they rely on comes from! North Queensland has been continually denied the opportunity to develop, prosper, and contribute to the nation.”
Mr Katter told the Queensland Parliament that Tasmania, with only 530,000 people was blessed with representation from 12 senators, almost one million people in North Queensland were not allocated any.
“Tasmania has a state GDP of $41 billion, yet North Queensland has a GDP of at least $90 billion!” he said.
“People try to laugh at me and the KAP when we raise the notion of a North Queensland state, but we are dead serious.
“When I’m at home in North Queensland I don’t hear anything about wanting to dive head long towards emissions targets, host Olympic games, or build more tunnels to get Brisbane workers home five minutes quicker.
“I hear about hard-working North Queenslanders having their industries and communities decimated by ideologically driven Brisbane policy.
“I hear about crumbling infrastructure that is ‘too expensive’ or ‘not a priority’ for the Government. I hear about people being forced to leave their communities to seek lifesaving medical treatment.
“This must stop and North Queensland must be freed from the shackles of southern rule.”