Bob Katter

Mr Katter said it was crucial the latest water licence allocation went to the locals and not foreign or absentee corporations as it did in the last process.

“The State ALP allocated all the water allocations from the Flinders River to the AA Company, a foreign corporation, and Stanbroke, an absentee landlord corporation. The people of north west Queensland got nothing,” he said.

“I get a sickening feeling in my stomach watching that water flow downstream. We have the proposal drawn up, ready-to-go for HIPCo and yet the State Government’s track record is to give the water to big corporations, not the locals. We shouldn’t have to drain the artesian aquifer to get our water.

“The whole aim of HIPCo is to grow the population of inland Australia. We can repeat this irrigation model at Richmond, Julia Creek, Cloncurry and through the Gulf towns like Normanton, Burketown, Georgetown, and Doomadgee.

“The Greenies want us to live in cities because they ‘don’t pollute’. The cities are the best creators of pollution. You can see a city’s light and heat pollution from 20 kilometres away. We must populate the inland.”

Mr Katter said he will use any position of power after the election to demand timeframes for the construction of HIPCo and other North Queensland water schemes.

“I will act with damaging hostility if whoever forms government doesn’t meet the construction timeframes,” he said.

“They will just bury you in studies and reports, so we will be setting definite deadlines.

“The Federal Government can ride over the top of the State. Look at the Franklin Dams case or the Snowy Mountains, the Federal Government will prevail in a High Court constitutional challenge over dams.”

-ENDS-