Media Release

Whilst on a visit to the Gulf country in his electorate of Kennedy, KAP Leader and Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter today called on Government to grant irrigation rights to landowners in order to ensure the future of the live cattle export trade in Australia.

The calls come off the back of a disastrous week for Northern Australian cattlemen following the decision by Indonesia to dramatically reduce its quota of live cattle imports for the next quarter.

Mr Katter said that following discussions with live cattle exporters, northern cattlemen, Carpentaria Shire Council and the Karumba Progress Association today, there was no doubt in his mind that the solution was serious irrigation.

“There need to be a few dozen 1,300 hectare block irrigation grants,” Mr Katter said.

“The existing cattle industry and the development of Karumba as a port cannot be sacrificed to some corporate adventures that may simply starve the area of water.

“Cape York Peninsula has 150,000 head of cattle, it is the same size as Victoria and has nearly three times the rainfall, yet Victoria has nearly 4.5 million head of cattle.

“If they allow us the minute amount of irrigation blocks that we require - we’re talking about .1 % of the water and .001% of the land - the benefit to the Australian economy is $7,000 million a year.”

Mr Katter said he hoped the KAP members Shane Knuth and Robbie Katter, with support from Billy Gordon, would move aggressively to see an arc of development from the Coleman and Mitchell Rivers around to the Flinders and Gilbert Rivers. These rivers include three of the six biggest rivers in Australia, with the Coleman River not far behind.

“The coming of irrigation onto Australia’s biggest and mightiest rivers is long overdue.

“We as a nation have got to assert ourselves and internationalist rubbish has got to be put in perspective.

“This will provide much needed jobs for our First Australians.

“Karumba which is now exporting 15,000 head of cattle per year should be exporting 300,000 head of cattle per year.

“It is an insanity to cart cattle from the Gulf, Cape York and even Mid-West back to Townsville and the present insanity of bringing fodder the 700 or 800km from Atherton or Clermont to Karumba is almost ridiculous.

“If we want to be internationally competitive, we have to put in place processes that will provide for efficiencies.

“Where the Indonesians are paying $4.00 a kilo; but the cattleman gets $1.50 a kilo; then inefficiencies are mopping up $2.50 a kilo. One can start to see the disastrous nature of the inefficiencies of this industry.

“But all the more credit to the people that have been the pioneers of this wonderful industry which provides cheap, accessible, wet product to the very poor people of Indonesia.

“We need to build on this industry as what Australia does very well is produce cattle, if only they will provide us with the small amount of irrigation blocks that we require,” Mr Katter said.

Photo:  Bob Katter, Karumba Live Export Manager Dean Bradford and wife Clare, President of the Karumba Progress Association Bill Rutherford, at the Karumba Live Export Yards today (photo credit Anne Pleash).