Budget 2021 lacks bold vision for North Queensland: Bob Katter

May 17, 2021

KENNEDY MP, Bob Katter has criticised the Federal Government’s 2021 Budget for lacking bold vision, with the plan containing no new funding for major, economic driving infrastructure. 


Major Infrastructure 

Mr Katter said he was disappointed there was no new funding for the Copperstring 2.0 transmission line that will connect the North West Minerals Province to the national electricity grid, bringing down energy costs for major mines and refineries in the Mount Isa/Cloncurry region, once built. 

“This Government has found money for tax relief for 1000 small brewers and distillers, but no additional funding for Copperstring. I’m starting to think they’ve been on the drink,” Mr Katter said. 

“The budget shows Australia is heading for $1 trillion of net debt in the next few years, and we need to be building infrastructure to create revenue that brings that figure down. 

“Make-money infrastructure is what we need; transmission lines that open new mines and refineries, irrigation dams that create more farms and industry, and roads that connect ports to new regions. We don’t want absorb-money projects like an Olympics in Brisbane, ring roads in Melbourne or airport train lines in Sydney.”

Mr Katter is still hopeful of funding for projects like Copperstring through the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) but believes it will need to be topped up as $2.8b of the $5b fund has been committed (as at 25 March 2021).[1]

Water

Mr Katter was buoyed by the continued commitment of funding for the Hughenden Irrigation Project (HIPCO), Big Rocks Weir and Hells Gates Dam, which have either undergone or are undergoing business case studies. 

“These studies and processes are part of the modern world we live in, but if I had my way the bulldozers would-be on-site tomorrow,” he said. 


Roads 

Roads were the big winner for the Kennedy electorate in the budget with a significant amount of money allocated for the western parts of the electorate. Including: 

• $400m for the Inland Freight Route (Mungindi to Charters Towers) Upgrades

• $26.1m Flinders Highway strengthening and widening between Cloncurry and Julia Creek

• $18.4m Flinders Highway overtaking lanes between Townsville and Charters Towers and $7.8m for wide centre line treatment on the same stretch of


Highway

• $12.2m Gregory Developmental Rd (Charters Towers - The Lynd) widening 

Mr Katter said he was disappointed no money was allocated for planning of a new road from Cairns to Mareeba (Atherton Tablelands), commonly known as the Kuranda Range Bypass or Bridle track. 

“However, my office is continuing to negotiate with the State and Federal Ministers,” he said. 

“A Queensland Govt study is underway; and once complete we will seek to get federal funding for design and engineering work. We currently have 60,000 residents trapped. It’s not an acceptable situation.” 


Disaster, Insurance & Weather 

Mr Katter said it was excellent to see confirmation of the $10b government guarantee to make insurance more affordable in Northern Australia, with $2.4m allocated for a taskforce to establish a reinsurance pool by July 2022. 

“It’s now a major priority for the KAP to ensure that this reinsurance pool is not derailed,” he said.

“I will be working closely with the local brokers to ensure we get the right outcome. I’m placing the Government on notice.” 

The cost of Cyclone Niran, which did extensive damage to banana crops between Tully and Babinda, was revealed in the Budget. $5m has been allocated for grants to primary producers who were affected, with individual growers able to receive $75,000 each. 

“Banana growers like Frank and Dianne Sciacca, and Dean Sinton deserve a huge congratulations for this funding,” Mr Katter said. “If it wasn’t for their determined fight, we wouldn’t have these grants.” 

The new Greenvale BOM rain radar will be operational ahead of the oncoming wet season.


Health

In a breakthrough for regional areas like the Kennedy Electorate, for the first time the Government will implement a progressive incentive schedule, which increases bulk billing payments for doctors based on remoteness. The $68.5m scheme has been welcomed by Kennedy MP, Bob Katter. 

“I’ve been consulting numerous doctors in my area including Mareeba’s Dr Grant Manypeney and Gordonvale’s Lisa Fraser, and this is exactly what we wanted. I’ll be meeting the Health Minister this month to go over the exact details, but this is very promising. Under the previous scheme areas like the Gold Coast were considered the same as Hughenden.” 


Media 

The Australian Associated Press (AAP) will receive $15.0 million over two years from 2020-21 to support the financial sustainability of its news wire and regional news reporting service. 

Mr Katter wrote several letters to the Communications Minister about the future of AAP and said he was relieved to see the funding in the budget. 

“Regional journalism has taken a big hit, so we need all the assistance we can get,” he said. 

“AAP has established a bureau in North Queensland due to this funding so it’s excellent to see certainty around its future. We need reporters keeping the b**tards honest, and we need our stories and concerns amplified to the rest of the country.” 


Communications

$68.5m has been allocated in dedicated funding over the next two years 2021-22 to deliver the Regional Connectivity Program and the Mobile Black Spot Program in Northern Australia. 

“When I travel around my electorate, especially the far-flung parts, telecommunications problems are the number one issue raised with me,” Mr Katter said. 

“I’ve worn out the carpet visiting the Minister and it’s great to see recognition with budget funding. My office will be working closely with the Minister to ensure this funding is well spent.”


Veterans

Mr Katter welcomed the $174.2m over two years from 2021-22 for a Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. 

“It’s essential that we get solutions out of this Royal Commission,” he said. “I’m proposing a veterans workforce cooperative that would link soldiers leaving the military with jobs and a career.” 


First Australians 

Mr Katter has long advocated for market gardens in First Australian communities in North Queensland to combat high rates of diabetes and malnutrition. 

Whilst there’s no specific funding for these initiatives in the budget, there is $10m over two years to support existing Indigenous enterprises and community organisations in the primary industry and land management sectors to expand or improve viability. 

Mr Katter has been working with residents in Yarrabah to establish market gardens and farming enterprises and hopes they can tap into this funding. 

“I am meeting with Minister Wyatt in the next parliamentary sitting and will be raising these issues directly,” he said. 

“The statistics for First Australians are horrendous and if they reached the United Nations, we would become the South Africa of the 21st Century. Life expectancy rates in the community areas are nearly half that of the average Australian. The Government must get off its tailbone.”


Fuel Security

Mr Katter said fuel security measures announced it the budget were laughable and made a mockery of Australia’s sovereignty and so-called ability to defend itself. 

The budget outlined a refinery production payment to help maintain Australia’s refining capability, and support to assist the refiners to conduct infrastructure upgrades. The budget also outlined $50.7m to establish a new fuel security framework. 

“We only have two refineries left (the others have closed) and they refine a miniscule amount of fuel that is often not from an Indigenous source,” he said. 

“We need to build a brand new, major, economies-of-scale refinery right here in Australia. The Government must also consider a nationwide ethanol mandate, coal to diesel technology, electric vehicles in the cities and waste to diesel technology - developed by Wagga’s Southern Oils.” 


Environment 

$29.1m of additional funding will be invested to protect native species from the threats posed by invasive pest animals and weeds in the native environment. 



Mr Katter met with the Environment Minister about feral pigs and prickly acacia weed in a pre-budget meeting, but says more funding is required to control the problems associated. 


-ENDS – 

AUSTRALIA IS NOT FOR SALE

By Dominique Moon • July 15, 2026
Is government seriously that tone deaf that it would permit the sale of 22,000 hectares of prime agricultural land to foreign investors????? UNFORTUNATELY .. the answer is YES . Our government has allowed the sale of a huge “Rushy Lagoon” property in Tasmania. THIS PROPERTY is roughly one-and-a-half times the size of Washington, D.C. (17,700 ha), and would fit roughly 30,800 international soccer pitches. THIS PROPERTY at capacity runs 85,000 DSE dairy and beef cattle. THIS PROPERTY employs hundreds of locals and supports the entire economy of the towns throughout the region. THIS PROPERTY is key to the sustainability and self-sufficiency of Australia’s domestic beef and milk markets. The INTERNATIONAL PURCHASERS want to turn it all into a “pine farm” - sacking staff and destroying the local economy, but also depriving Australia of the agricultural and wealth generation that comes with such a large agricultural enterprise. Ignoring the pleas from locals, government has rubber stamped the sale. AUSTRALIA WE MUST WAKE UP!!!! WE MUST FIGHT AGAINST FOREIGN LANDLORDS!!!! IT MIGHT NOT BE HAPPENING IN YOUR BACKYARD NOW…. BUT IT WILL BE SOON!!! AUSTRALIA IS NOT… AND SHOULD NEVER BE… FOR SALE!!!!

Nowhere to hide: Govt must make public imported peanut results

By Elise Nucifora • July 8, 2026
8 July 2026: North Queensland Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has demanded the Federal Agriculture Minister make public the “deeply concerning” findings of Government investigations into imported peanuts for Australian farmers “who every right to know whether their industry has been exposed to a biosecurity threat”. After meeting with the Federal Minister in Canberra last week, Mr Katter has formally requested in writing the Department of Agriculture’s full transparency on the results of investigations, alongside an immediate halt to peanut imports where Australia's biosecurity cannot be guaranteed. "Australia has strict biosecurity rules for a reason. They exist to stop dangerous pests and diseases getting into this country before they destroy Australian agriculture," said Mr Katter. "However, having been advised by the Minister last week of intensive investigations into imported peanuts – including the germination testing of particular significance – my office has now received evidence confirming germination of the samples collected for laboratory testing… which raises very serious questions because if peanuts can germinate, they are raw.” Mr Katter said the results indicating germination in all peanut varieties tested had raised fears imported peanuts are not undergoing necessary processing to eliminate raw biosecurity threats. "The Australian peanut industry is rightly worried about diseases that simply do not exist here – such as the devastating peanut smut in overseas crops which, once established, slashes yields by up to 75 per cent. Once these diseases are in Australian soil, there’s no magic wand to get rid of them." Mr Katter said reports the imported raw peanuts were being offered for sale nationwide reflected the extent of the potential national biosecurity risk “that we've seen again and again and again... We warned governments not to allow imported prawns because white spot disease would get in. We were ignored, and white spot came in. We warned about citrus canker. We warned about black sigatoka. We warned about papaya fruit fly. We warned about Panama disease. “If you believe governments have the best interest of Australian farmers at heart, then you believe in the tooth fairy – while they continue to gamble with Australia's biosecurity and food security to look after their precious ‘free’ trade agreements.”  Mr Katter said where there was genuine uncertainty about whether imported peanuts complied with Australia's biosecurity requirements, “they should not be coming into this country until that uncertainty is resolved. You don't wait until the disease arrives, before you lock the gate." ENDS

Katter welcomes Phosphate Hill sale as victory for North West

By Kahla Kruger • July 1, 2026
KAP Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has welcomed the completion of the sale of Phosphate Hill, celebrating it as a major win for North West Queensland workers, industry and the future of Australian fertiliser production. Mr Katter said the announcement represented the culmination of years of relentless campaigning to keep one of Australia's most strategically important industrial assets operating. "This is wonderful news for North West Queensland," Mr Katter said. "For years we've been bashing the doors down, that if Australia wanted to keep industry alive, governments had to step in and secure a future for assets like Phosphate Hill." Mr Katter said the federal government’s Reserve Resource Policy had been instrumental in helping create the conditions for the sale. "Getting a Reserve Resource Policy in place has been one of the major achievements of my political life. We fought tooth and nail because Australia should never be paying world-leading prices for our own gas. "Our competitors in countries like the United States and Russia have access to affordable energy, while Australian manufacturers have been paying more than $16 a unit for gas.” Mr Katter said affordable gas was fundamental to the survival of the North West's industrial base. "Everything at Phosphate Hill depends on gas. It powers the plant and drives the chemical processes that turn our natural resources into the fertiliser. "Only a year or so ago we were staring down the barrel of losing one of Australia's biggest industrial centres, with the closure of copper and phosphate production threatening thousands of livelihoods across the North West. "This is an enormous relief for the workers, contractors, families and communities who never gave up. "I particularly want to thank the people of North West Queensland who stood together and fought for this outcome. They refused to accept that these jobs should disappear, and today their determination has been rewarded." Mr Katter said the focus must now be on ensuring Phosphate Hill has the affordable energy certainty needed to remain strong operation for decades to come.  -ENDS-

PODCAST: Tip of the Iceberg? | Immigration, Parliament & Bob's $300 Billion Blueprint

By Kahla Kruger • June 25, 2026
Parliament is back and so is the fight for Australia's future. This week, Bob and Elise sit down in Canberra to tackle one of the country's most contentious issues: immigration. Was the Bondi tragedy a warning sign? Bob argues it exposed much deeper problems, and that Australia's political class has abandoned its duty to protect the nation. Plus, inside Bob's $300 billion plan to transform Australia from a country that spends money into one that makes it. Listen now!

Our First Pubcast! Having a crack in paradise : Mission Beach, Mateship & Making It Work

By Kahla Kruger • June 21, 2026
This week on Wisdom Mongrel Patriot, Bob hits the road and takes listeners deep into the heart of the Kennedy electorate to showcase the people, places and businesses that make Northern Australia tick. Our first stop is the tropical paradise of Mission Beach, where Bob sits down with one of the region's young entrepreneurs, Liam Johnson, owner of Scotties Bar and Grill. Liam shares the reality of starting a small business in today's Australia. Despite the challenges, he's chosen to back himself and invest in his community. Why would a young bloke take the risk? What keeps him going? And what does the future hold for regional small business? Along the way, Bob and Elise explore the wider Mission Beach region; one of Australia's true hidden gems. From pristine beaches and tropical rainforest to tourism, agriculture and local enterprise, they discuss why this corner of North Queensland continues to attract people looking for opportunity and a better way of life. And because no road trip with Bob would be complete without it, listeners are treated to another classic Bob serenade that proves once again that politics and music are never far apart in Kennedy. This week is a story about backing yourself, building something from scratch and having a crack when plenty of others wouldn't.  Pull up a stool, grab a cold one and join Bob as he takes Wisdom Mongrel Patriot on the road. 🎙️🍻🌴

PODCAST: The War on Farmers: AgForce President Shane McCarthy Joins Bob Katter

By Kahla Kruger • June 4, 2026
This week, Bob sits down with AgForce Queensland President Shane McCarthy, better known to mates and colleagues simply as "Sheep". In a frank discussion about the future of Australian agriculture, Sheep outlines the biggest challenges facing farmers today. He discusses the need for cutting through layers of red and green tape to ensure that producers can get on with the job of feeding the nation. The pair discuss the growing burden of regulation, the need for practical policy solutions, and why governments must start trusting farmers instead of tying them up in bureaucracy. They also tackle the escalating pest crisis affecting rural Australia, including the impact of pigs, wild dogs, wild cats and other feral animals and invasive species that continue to devastate livestock, crops and native ecosystems across the country. Along the way, Bob and Sheep share a few laughs, including a brief detour into the mystery of Bob's famously crooked nose, before reflecting on the homeland and values that shaped them both. It's a conversation about agriculture, common sense and the people who keep Australia fed. Listen now for a paddock-to-parliament discussion on farming, freedom and the future of regional Australia.
texan

What happens when you put water into the dry country? Ask Texas.

By Kahla Kruger • June 1, 2026
For decades I've been saying that water is the key to Australia's future. We don't have to wonder what happens when you build the infrastructure to harness it—we've just heard it firsthand from the people who've lived it. A big thank you to Rod Wetsel, Jake Lederle and Quentin Wetsel for travelling all the way from Texas to Hughenden to share their experience. Their lessons from Sweetwater and beyond have shown exactly what happens when governments back irrigation and transmission infrastructure: industries grow, jobs are created, and towns that were once shrinking begin to thrive. We're saving years of trial and error by listening to people who have already walked this path. Congratulations to Mayor Kate Peddle, Flinders Shire Council, RAPAD, the Local Government Association of Queensland and everyone who helped bring this delegation together. These are the conversations that can shape the future of inland Australia.  The answer has never been to abandon the bush. The answer is to build it. That's how you nation-build.

World Blood Cancer Day puts local focus on life-saving donors list

By Kahla Kruger • May 28, 2026
28 May 2026: On World Blood Cancer Day today, Kennedy MP Bob Katter has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of strengthened funding for a major recruitment campaign to register hundreds of thousands more stem cell donors to be potentially called upon help save the lives of fellow Australians. In response to a question from Mr Katter in Parliament yesterday, the Health Minister confirmed Australia continued to hold one of the smallest stem cell donor registries of all developed countries – three years after vowing to expedite a significant increase in lagging donor registrations following representations by Mr Katter. The Minister also confirmed the Government’s call for tenders this week to establish a specialist stem cell donor registry and clinical service, to facilitate greater donor-recipient matches as the last hope for survivors. Mr Katter said the Life Saving List community campaigners had increased bone marrow donor registrants from 168,000 to 190,000 in the three years since the Health Minister noted Australia had not moved fast enough to help more blood cancer patients find donors. “In these three years, Australia has lost 18,000 lives – 20 people a day – including my nephew Liam,” he told Parliament before today joining community-based campaigners with the Parliamentary Group on Bone Marrow Donation to mark World Cancer Day in the Speaker’s Courtyard, where special guests from the Canberra Raiders demonstrated the quick and simple test to go on the register with just a cheek swab, or when donating blood. Along with Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and Stem Cell Donors Australia, Life Saving List campaigner Josephine O’Brien said she was grateful for the progress in the two years since the premature death of husband Liam, who remained steadfast in his commitment to growing the stem cell donor registry whilst fighting for his own life. Acknowledging the work of Lifeblood for the treatments Liam required daily thanks to the kindness of strangers donating, Mrs O’Brien said: “No family should have to carry the weight of finding a donor alone. When someone you love needs a stem cell match, you are already facing the hardest moment of your life.” She also paid tribute to the Canberra Raiders for their ongoing support with the “relentless efforts” of campaigners and Parliamentary Group on Bone Marrow Donation – including Mr Katter, Macarthur MP Dr Mike Freelander, Kooyong MP Dr Monique Ryan, Forde MP Mr Ted O’Brien, Lyons MP Hon. Rebecca White and their staff – who fought for the inclusion in 2023 of cheek-swab registrations as “a giant leap forward for Australia that would not have been achieved for many years without the force of Liam O’Brien behind it”. Mr Katter said the additional expansion of 17-year-olds to the list of eligible donors would increase the pool of potential registrants from which to recruit potential stem cell donors by several hundred thousand young Australians; and welcomed the Minister’s further advice that the successful tenderer to provide clinical services to match donors with patients, would be asked to consider whether the age limit be raised from 35-40 years.

PODCAST: Bob talks to Josephine O'Brien about the Life Saving List on World Blood Cancer Day

By Kahla Kruger • May 28, 2026
Josephine O'Brien joins Wisdom Mongrel Patriot on World Blood Cancer Day to share the deeply personal story behind the campaign that is transforming Australia's stem cell donor registry. After losing her husband Liam to blood cancer, Josephine has turned unimaginable grief into action, leading the fight to grow Australia's donor register and give other families the chance they never had. Bob Katter, his Chief of Staff Kahla Kruger, and Josephine discuss Australia's chronic shortage of stem cell donors, the progress made through the Life Saving List campaign, the importance of simple cheek-swab registrations, and why thousands more young Australians are needed on the register. This is a story of courage, persistence and hope, and a reminder that a single donor can mean the difference between life and death. Every Australian aged 17-35 can help. One cheek swab could save a life.

The Great Australian Dream Has Become a Debt

By Kahla Kruger • May 25, 2026
Australia was once a country where an ordinary Australian could buy a home, raise a family and have the mortgage knocked over by 30. Today, young Australians are being sold a very different dream, a lifetime on the hamster wheel, saddled with million-dollar mortgages they may never escape.