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

I have had discussions with my colleague the honourable member for New England. His viewpoint is I think the same as my own. I take the view that the country is in a fairly serious situation. We have to find $80,000 million to meet the balance of payments next year because we have no manufacturing and are closing down agriculture. Our housing values are six times average annual earnings, whereas in America they are only three times average annual earnings. So, if they have a crisis, our crisis is far worse. The economy is being carried by mining, and I represent the biggest mining province on earth. Mine prices are down 30 per cent, possibly 50 per cent. Zinc, which is a very good mineral barometer, is down from about $4,000 to $1,400. That is the seriousness of the crisis that we are in. Every member here should listen when I say we really need a bipartisan approach to what is a very serious crisis that is going to be, in my opinion—and I could be wrong—worse next year than it is this year. We want everyone to, please, work together to give the people of Australia some confidence in what is happening.

The proposition being put forward by the government is that the opposition cannot attack a public servant. Everyone here should read what happened between 1929 and 1932 because Gibson, the head of the Reserve Bank, was dead wrong. He was incredibly wrong. He took the advice of Otto Niemeyer, and everybody knows now that Niemeyer probably caused the Depression—that was what Winston Churchill said. We took Niemeyer’s advice. The proposition that the government is putting forward—that people on this side cannot attack a public servant—sorry, is not a proposition that I agree with. It is very important that that be established. In my judgement, what the opposition are doing is indulging in partisan politics—and they can laugh and they can scoff, but this is very serious indeed—at a time when I think we should be pulling together.

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