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

I direct a question to the Prime Minister. Is the Prime Minister aware that Queensland Premier Beattie has announced a statewide amalgamation of city and shire councils? His statement that 88 of Queensland’s 157 councils are ‘unsustainable’ and that many others would ‘benefit by amalgamation’ clearly indicates that two-thirds of Queensland’s local authorities will be abolished. Could the Prime Minister assure the people of Queensland that any proposed amalgamations will be subject to federal government scrutiny and oversighting and that local authorities, financed today more by the federal than the state governments, will not be largely abolished at the whim of the Premier? Would the Prime Minister not agree that the Queensland government—currently unable to provide a sustainable water supply, doctors who can speak fluent English or electricity for minerals processing—would be the least qualified authority in Australia to preach and implement efficiencies in government? In conclusion, could the Prime Minister comment on speculation that Mr Beattie—still smarting over his banishment and isolation during the Goss-Rudd years of government—will however now be ‘efficient’ in derailing Mr Rudd’s journey to the Lodge?

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