MAKING a speech in Parliament or being grilled by opposing party members is nothing compared to a room full of passionate students for state member for Mount Isa Rob Katter.
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Spinifex State College students from the year 11 social and community studies class recently had the chance to quiz Mr Katter on the issues of the region.
And the results showed the future of the city was in good hands, with students not holding back when asking the tough questions.
From bullying to how he made his way into politics, students put pressure on Mr Katter about a number of issues affecting the North West.
There was also talk of how Fly-In, Fly-Out workers impacted Mount Isa and the difficulties surrounding the changes to an early transition to year 7 for students.
“The best benefit of having a mine in town is having the workers live here,” Mr Katter said when addressing the FIFO issue.
“They spend their money here and it keeps the economy going.”
Mr Katter also spoke of the negative impact on families when parents worked away from home.
Most students were perplexed as to why Mr Katter was lobbying against Sunday trading but his explanation soon swayed many when he outlined local businesses’ generosity to sporting clubs, among other things.
He also told of how the bikie laws were introduced and spoke about how “terribly wrong” it was for the way the government rolled out bikie laws with an 11th hour decision.
A Kajabbi local, Kia Burke, 16, asked about the poor state roads to her home town and how she should go about getting them upgraded.
“People need to put pressure on me by ringing me, and coming into my office to talk about these issues and let me know,” Mr Katter said.
Mr Katter outlined one of his greatest achievements in politics was getting the go-ahead for cattle to graze on national parks land during the drought.
The students also voiced their opinions of many long-time locals with criticism of Buchanan Park. “It’s one of the best examples of poor government you’ll ever find,” Mr Katter said of the multimillion-dollar project.
There were also issues raised about pig hunting and the prospects of setting up a chiller to make financial gain from legally culling wild animals.
And of course, there was the all-important question of when Hungry Jacks would be operational in Mount Isa.
Teacher Danielle Flower thanked Mr Katter for his participation in the class to give “real-world context for the students for their assessment”.
‘‘I was pretty impressed and happy to see the students engaging and asking about issues they care about,” she said.
‘‘It’s good to see engaging in the local community, which is what subject is all about.’’
