Maverick MP’s push for a new Aussie state catches PM off-guard

“America started with 15 colonies. Now it has 50 states. We started with six colonies. Now we have six states. Why did America prosper? Because of the states.”

Maverick MP Bob Katter renewed his push for a separate North Queensland state in federal parliament this week, calling on the government to draft a report on the proposal’s viability.

When nine.com.au called his office to ask a few questions, the above opening quote was the start of his reply. He pointed to how the US western states were able to effectively run their own affairs with minimal interference from Washington DC, leading to the development of economic powerhouses like California.

North Queensland, Katter says, is well-placed with tremendous natural resources, a strong population, and huge growth potential - but it’s all being “strangled” by a government sitting 3000km away that “has no interest” in anything outside the state’s south-east.

Katter’s own electorate of Kennedy, he said, was home to huge amounts of untapped water runoff, of which about two per cent was used, compared to 28 per cent in NSW.

And the region’s mineral diversity he said was second to none globally - but the region lacks the roads, tunnels, and infrastructure to properly access and transport it.

Not to mention that much of the region is under mining leases, which tend to attract investors from Sydney, who are uninterested in developing them.

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“They wouldn’t know what a rock was if they stumbled over it on a dark night,” Katter said.

Each of these sectors - mining, and water development - would be worth $100 billion a year apiece to the country, if properly developed, Katter said.

The same argument was made in his Question Time pitch to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who admitted in his response the question was “not on (his) bingo card”.

“The idea of a break-up of the states, including the great state of Queensland, would perhaps see a Premier Katter in Far North Queensland, which might or might not be a good thing,” Albanese said.

“It would weaken the Queensland State of Origin team somewhat, given the magnificent players who’ve come from places like Cloncurry and Mount Isa.”

The prime minister did say there “certainly” was a case for ensuring the region received more infrastructure and its fair share of resources.

But it’s the allocation of those government funds that sparked Katter’s question in the first place - though the cause for North Queensland statehood has been a longstanding one for the Father of the House.

He told nine.com.au that it was the decision last year by the state and federal governments to invest over $600 million in Glencore-owned mining projects in Mount Isa that saw him come forward.

“The last thing the people of North Queensland wanted was Glencore to stay,” he said.

The decision, he said, showed the priorities of governments were not the priorities of locals.

“I’m not aware of anywhere else on Earth where a population of over a million people are being governed by a government 3000km away,” Katter said.

Trying to speak about North Queensland to Brisbane politicians and officials, he said, was like “talking to a Martian”.

He envisaged a North Queensland state as taking in the population centres of Townsville, Mackay, and Cairns, with a case to be made for Rockhampton depending on which way the locals wished to jump.

Citing French political philosopher Alexis De Tocqueville, Katter pointed to his theory of the “tyranny of the majority”, a piece of thinking that also was central to the creation of the US Constitution.

“Democracy doesn’t necessarily deliver justice, or freedom ... it just delivers the will of the majority,” Katter said.

“Well, that’s what we’ve got here.”