Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I have been cut off and gagged on numerous occasions in this place, including in the MPI debate. The honourable minister says that we get a fair go. On at least one occasion I have been cut off completely in the MPI debate. So we have not been getting a fair go in the MPIs to date. When I was a ranking minister in the Queensland government, there was never ever an occasion when the opposition spoke and I regretted them speaking. Sometimes their stupid remarks were enormously self-destructive and reflected upon themselves and on other occasions they were spot-on and they pressured the government to go in the direction that we should have been going in. I heard my own arguments from inside the cabinet room and the party room voiced by the opposition. And that is the idea of having open debate in this place.

The member for Grayndler was perfectly right in his remarks, as was the member for New England. Yes, we get the opportunity to speak on legislation, but the MPI is the only time we get to speak on timely issues. I believe, however stupidly or naively, after 32 or 33 years in parliament, that what members say in this place does have an effect. People do listen and sometimes take notes. If you are closing down debate then you are seriously damaging the political process.

And what an act of political stupidity this is if the honourable minister has political ambitions to go higher than he has. There are three Independents in this place. I may be reading the opinion polls wrong, but the government are not looking particularly good. In fact, they are looking worse at the polls than they have looked in all my time here since they got elected to government. To blatantly antagonise the three Independents is an act of monumental stupidity, which has been taken advantage of by the opposition. Of course, they have ingratiated themselves to us today by giving us a fair go. And the government have antagonised us by doing anything but giving us a fair go in relation to our ability to get up and say a few words on the timely issues of the day. It is only four or five times in the last 18 months that I have had an opportunity to speak for 10 minutes on the MPI. That is hardly earth-shattering. On issues such as climate change and water—the debate of last week—of course a person like me should be speaking. I am representing a third of Australia’s water resources. It would be a rather peculiar debate if I were not involved in it.

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