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

No, this is at the very essence of the horse debate, my friend. You are obviously very ignorant of the principles involved. The honourable representative of the opposition is laughing. He thinks that is funny. But I will explain it to him, because obviously a lot of things go over his head. I will explain it in simple language so that even a three-year-old might be able to understand. If AQIS is not performing then you have to secure a horrific amount of money from Australian taxpayers. That is what this bill, the Horse Disease Response Levy Bill 2008, is about today. It is because of the continuous failure of AQIS that the taxpayers of Australia are up for literally thousands of million of dollars. Mechanisms need to be put in place to prevent this from happening.

For your information, my friend, here is where the rubber meets the road: the people who are going to pay will be a tiny little narrow group of people, whereas the whole of the Australian people are now bearing the burden of the incompetence of AQIS. I think to some degree that the National Party has paid the price for the incompetence of their now leader. They rewarded him by putting him at the front of the queue and making him their leader—which is a message for every Australian. It will probably yield benefits for them in Rob Oakeshott’s electorate this weekend. Where the rubber meets the road is: who pays for this continuous incompetence? Firstly, the government should pay because it is at fault in the administration of this portfolio. There has been a continuous failure of government over the last 20 years to pull these incompetent people into line—and I always use as my example Horn Island and the Jardine ferry. What is that going to cost the Australian people? What has not paying the ferryman, not having an inspector there, cost us? The equine flu—

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