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

This matter of public importance is about economic security in regional Australia. You must be judged upon your outcomes. The Liberal-National Party government in New South Wales moved immediately to sell electricity. The National Party put up a hell of a fight in Western Australia over this issue, because, if you privatise the electricity industry, then, in those areas where there are fewer people concentrated, the lines—and I was a minister for mines and energy in the Queensland government—have got to be stretched over a longer area, and in country areas the cost will go up 40 or 50 per cent. The last New South Wales Leader of the National Party screamed and yelled in the middle of the election campaign and said, 'We'll never roll over and accept the privatisation of electricity in New South Wales.' The current National Party Leader in New South Wales rolled straight over. The Leader of the National Party in New South Wales said, 'When it is privatised, the cost of electricity in rural New South Wales will go up 40 per cent.' In Western Australia, the National Party said: 'When it is privatised, the price of electricity will go up in rural Western Australia by 40 per cent.' I would say is probably closer to 60 per cent in Queensland, because our population is more sparsely distributed.

Judge people on their outcomes. The LNP in Queensland talked about economic security. They have only been there six weeks and they are closing down the fishing industry. They made an announcement that they are buying out what is left of the fishing industry. The LNP closed most of it down. They are back in power in the state and now they are going to close down what is left of it. And they come in here and talk about economic security! There is no economic security for those towns like Innisfail or Bundaberg. Where is the member for Bundaberg? Where is he squealing while his industry is about to be closed down around him?

Whilst the coalition are in here talking about economic security, the LNP minister in Queensland, McArdle—I love the new government; they are giving me a press release every day!—has announced he is not going to have any electricity flowing into north-west Queensland. Well, that just means we cannot have any mines in north-west Queensland. The greatest resource outside of Olympic Dam—no, bigger than Olympic Dam—is the Galilee Basin coalfields. It needs railways, which are being sold off by the current LNP government, and it needs electricity. The LNP government have just announced that they are not going to put an electricity line into the Galilee Basin or the coalfields, and the coalition have got the enormous hide to stand up in this place and say they are for economic security for rural areas! Under agreement, I hand over to my colleague.

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