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

I will speak exceptionally briefly. There is a hell of a difference between a question such as 'We are having flooding; could the minister please assist us over flooding in the Gulf of Carpentaria?' and saying: 'We have 60 kilometres of water where the three rivers have joined. Karumba is now an island. It needs to be evacuated, and your government is doing nothing about evacuating the population.' That is a question I actually asked in this place and I was cut down before I could give the detail which could have embarrassed the government into action. It was also asked in the Queensland parliament, except that the state member had the chance to get the full question out and get the helicopters in. I use that as an example, but I could use a hundred others.

Mr Speaker, I am greatly flattered by the resistance—which has now crumbled—of the government to giving me and my fellow crossbenchers an extra 15 seconds.

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