Media Release

KAP Federal Leader and Member for Kennedy Bob Katter today questioned the integrity of Federal Nationals Member for Hinkler Keith Pitt after he backed down on his threat to cross the floor over Renewable Energy Targets (RETs) legislation which was voted on by the House of Representatives late last night.

Mr Pitt was reported in the media yesterday to say he would cross the floor and vote against his own Government’s Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Bill 2015, as it would push power prices up for those who could least afford them. Whilst he gave a speech to Parliament about his troubles with the Government’s legislation and the negative impact of increasing power prices on his electorate, he ultimately voted in favour of the Bill.

“I’m deeply disappointed at the member for Hinkler,” Mr Katter said today.

“Having articulated the truth on the ridiculous RETs scheme, we informed him that the House would be dividing on it.

“I was voting against the Bill as we should not have a RETs scheme at all.

“But it was very disappointing to see the Member for Hinkler saying he’d do one thing in the newspaper and doing the exact opposite in Parliament.

“This seems to have become a hallmark of the National Party in recent years.”

Mr Katter himself defected from the National Party in 2001 over dairy deregulation - which ultimately crippled Queensland dairy farmers in the electorate of Kennedy.

He pointed out that the Member for Hinkler was wrong when he said that environmental issues had been responsible for skyrocketing electricity prices.

“That can be entirely laid at the feet of the privatisers and the de-regulators – the free-market fundamentalists.

“When I was the Minister for Energy in Queensland we had the cheapest electricity in the world.

“The price for electricity was then $670 per annum and it stayed at that price until 2001, until deregulation.

“All the wonders of the free market then came in and, under the wonders of the free market, we are now paying $2,359 per annum for electricity.

“It is a furphy to say that price increases comes from renewables,” Mr Katter said.

Mr Katter said that the answer on renewable energies was simple, ethanol.

“Our proposed power station, a huge ethanol plant south of Charters Towers on the Burdekin River known as UBurIS, will reduce Australia's electricity emissions by one per cent.

“Half of the power for the one million people who live in North Queensland will be picked up by one single renewable power station, which does not put any pollution into the atmosphere at all.

“It will also provide over five percent of Australia’s petrol requirements, almost totally eliminating C02 emissions and providing Australia with fuel security.

“Brazil now uses ethanol for 66 per cent of transport and if it is done the modern way that reduces carbon emissions by 72 per cent.

“So the answers are there - yet the decision of the left-hand side and the right-hand side of this Parliament is to send $25,000 million a year to Middle Eastern oil producers, instead of sending it into rural Queensland.

“So why are we having this huge argument here about RETs, which are absolutely ridiculous, when the amount of reduction is negligible?” Mr Katter asked.

Mr Katter also pointed to the huge price savings to consumers on petrol with ethanol.

“America is now, by a long way, the biggest ethanol producer in the world and Americans are paying 62c at the bowser.

“The Brazilians, last time I looked, were paying 67c at the bowser.

“But we Australians are paying 142c at the bowser.

“So why aren't we moving to ethanol?

“Ordinary people cannot dodge the price of petrol, nor can they dodge paying for electricity.

“The rich can afford solar panels whilst the poor who can’t afford them are subsidising them.

“Fairness, not bloody likely.

“Member for Hinkler, you’re performance on this was pitt-iful,” Mr Katter said.