Fall Armyworm threatens future of Tablelands ag industries

February 3, 2022

FOR more than two years the Fall Armyworm has been decimating maize crops on the Atherton Tablelands, and now farmers are considering moving into other crops.



A shortage of maize production will have a major impact on the dairy, beef, chicken and pork industries as maize and corn silage is a feed-source for these animals. 


Kennedy MP, Bob Katter, and Hill MP, Shane Knuth, inspected the damage caused by the Fall Armyworm on Jimmy Isabella and Jason Lea’s maize farm near Atherton, with 100 percent of the crop affected.

 

Jason Lea said that unless they secured government funding or another way to control these grubs, they will have no choice but to give up on maize and grow something else.


“This is the second year in a row that the Fall Armyworm has come in heavy from a young age. Corn is generally a good crop, nice and easy to grow and you only have to spray it once,” Lea said.



“Four to five times we have had to spray them with insecticide, just to try and let the bush take its own course and grow cobs and make us our living. It is a lot of hard work, and it’s not easy to see your crop being destroyed by the grub.


“These chemicals that are being brought in for these grubs are not cheap either. You're spending $2,000-$3,000 a drum and that brings profit margins right down, so now we are going backwards.


“Last year it caught everyone by surprise, and we saw a few farmers get rid of their crops all together and cut their losses, but you’ve got to stick with it and get in there early and get on top of them otherwise you can completely lose your crop,” he said.

 

Nearby maize farmer Geoff Riesen has also had a major Fall Armyworm infestation and is considering grassing down his farm and running cattle.

“Unless they come-up with something it won't be just me, it’ll mean a heap of other farmers getting out,” Riesen said.


“I’m worried for the future. If we don’t get rid of this Fall Armyworm it will be detrimental to all of Australia, not just Far North Queensland.


“I’m not the sort of a farmer that asks for a handout, but they need to try and combat this moth because we are going to lose guys in maize and then we’ll lose the dairy farmers, chicken farmers and feedlots because they won’t have the silage.


“It will be dearer to buy these products for the consumer. If we don’t produce, there will be a shortage of the product in the shops.”


Mr Riesen says Australia is falling behind and needs to follow what other countries are doing.


“It was an eye opener when I was in America. They have genetically modified (GM) corn and GM cotton. The caterpillar can’t eat it. The people in America don’t spray anymore, they plant their corn and walk away – jobs done. I think we should consider this.


“The way they are going now I don’t think we are going to be here much longer. I honestly don’t want to jump on a tractor and keep spraying. I feel our Ag Minister should be a bit more involved. It’ll be too late by the time he gets involved. That horse has already bolted.”

 

Hill MP, Shane Knuth, has labelled the Fall Armyworm spread a national disaster and continues to call on the State and Federal Governments to provide subsidies for the cost of the spraying.


“Both State and Federal government are doing very little, and biological control might take ten years – we won’t have these farmers then,” Mr Knuth said.


“Some farmers have sprayed these worms four to five times a week and they don’t have the funding, time or resources to keep it up. All they are asking for is a little bit of help.


“Now we are seeing the fall armyworm spread to flowers, paw paw, and other crops and it doesn’t stop there.


“There is a possibility we can beat this, but it is impossible if farmers don’t have the resources to combat them that the Government step in to make a difference in the form of a subsidy to help them to kill the fall armyworm.


“I will continue to raise this issue with Agriculture Minister Mark Furner and telling him that this is a very important issue. It is not enough to say they are researching biological control. The whole region is doing it tough, and now the farmers are giving up.”

 

Kennedy MP, Bob Katter, said multiple solutions were needed to control Fall Armyworm.


He is calling on the Federal Government to assist with subsidies for spraying and says the Minister should consider allowing GM corn into Australia, as well as establish a nationwide crop insurance scheme where farmers pay a 1 percent levy.


“Atherton is the most beautiful place in the world. It has the most beautiful soil in the world, nutrient rich, crumbly; a rich dark red soil – but these blokes are left no alternative than to go to suburban subdivision if they don’t get the help to battle the Fall Armyworm," he said.


“Do you really want this beautiful soil to become a suburban subdivision? Destroying all that beautiful rainforest up there. No jobs for any of our kids?


“The Government doesn’t govern. If we had a government that governed, then we would allow genetically modified corn, and this would not be happening. Our competitors have done this, so they don’t have the spraying problem.


“Every single farmer and agriculturalist in this country needs crop insurance. Everyone else will get a turn whether it is citrus canker or black sigatoka- everyone will get their turn. But we need money to fight it.


“A one percent levy on farmers would fund a big pool of money that could be reinvested when crops are taken out. In the meantime, the Federal Government must look at subsidising our farmers who are having to spray their crops five times to beat the Fall Armyworm.”


—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
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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.