September 15, 2014
Katter’s Australian Party believes it has a real chance of holding the balance of power in the Queensland Parliament come the next State election.
The party’s founder, Federal member for Kennedy Bob Katter, and the party’s Queensland leader Ray Hopper, dropped into Kingaroy today to meet with local residents.
Mr Hopper, the Member for Condamine, is vacating the seat in favour of his son, Ben, to challenge the LNP’s Deb Frecklington in Nanango.
Mr Hopper predicted KAP could hold the balance of power.
“Campbell Newman will not win Ashgrove which means we will have Jeff Seeney as Premier,” he said.
“He’s going to lose probably 30 seats which will put us in a balance-of-power of situation. If we can win five to 10 seats … no one can form government without us saying we will help. That will give us the power.
“Would you rather have decisions being made by country people in your electorate or by people in Brisbane?
“So if you have a representative in a balance-of-power situation, that gives the people of Nanango the power to make the decisions on how to run government. And I think that’s a wonderful thing.”
Mr Hopper said KAP was confident of winning Mt Isa, Dalrymple, Condamine, Nanango, Lockyer, Gympie, Hinchinbrook, Burdekin and Cook.
Mr Katter said KAP “dipped out” in the northern Queensland seats by 2 per cent in the last election.
“We don’t intend to dip out by 2 per cent in this election … there’s no doubt they’re going to take huge losses in the north.”
Mr Hopper explained his decision to switch from the LNP to KAP after the last State election.
He said the LNP went into the last election saying that Acland Stage 3 would not go ahead and that there would be no coal seam gas east of the Condamine River.
“Three weeks after the election we’re talking about Acland Stage 3 going ahead and they were drilling east of the Condamine River,” he said.
“So I fell on my sword because I went to the people under the LNP telling them that they were safe if they voted for me. As soon as we get elected all those promises were broken. Well, I wasn’t going to stay in that situation, no way in the world.”
Mr Hopper said that if KAP held the balance of power, Acland Stage 3 would be “revisited”.
Another issue, was the outsourcing of stock inspection services by the former Labor Government which had put a burden on cattle producers which had not been addressed by the LNP government.
“We have no National Party any more. We have a Liberal Party government,” Mr Hopper said.
Mr Hopper said there would be three things that he would be demand of government:
- A State Bank for Queensland (ie low-interest loans for primary producers)
- Give power back to elected Councillors – “take the power off the Town Planners and give it back to the democratically elected councillors”
- Mandating 10 per cent ethanol of all petrol sold
He said KAP would also oppose asset sales.
“Those assets belong to the people of Queensland. You don’t sell half your farm and expect to run the same amount of cattle,” Mr Hopper said.
“We’re selling assets to build tunnels in Brisbane and a $6.5 million pollie palace so the Ministers can pick what colour leather they’re going to sit in.”
