THE member for Mount Isa supports legislation to protect the Great Barrier Reef because it could encourage the state government to turn to Port Karumba for exports.
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Robber Katter was supporting the Environmental Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Bill, which was passed in State Parliament on Tuesday. “If we want to protect the Great Barrier Reef, we have to look at the Karumba Port,” Mr Katter said.
“It is not a big port, but it is of enormous strategic value because boats can go straight through to Asia, bypassing the Great Barrier Reef.
“It is a very important point to recognise that Karumba is an access port for produce out of north-west Queensland and the gulf that can go directly to Asia, bypassing the reef.”
Mr Katter said Panamax ships were preferred in the industry, but were not ideal to travel across the reef.
But these ships could get into Karumba Port, Mr Katter said.
The difficulty with using Karumba Port was that it needed dredging because it was shallow. When MMG’s Century Mine reduced operations next year, the company would not be spending much money on dredging.
