CAMPBELL Newman must fess up on the impact of the LNP’s asset sales in the North West, says state member for Mount Isa and Katter’s Australia Party candidate Rob Katter.
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As Mr Katter travelled through small rural towns this week, he said the common concern from voters was the cost of asset sales.
“What I’m seeing and hearing out in the hinterland is challenging me to front up to the LNP and say it’s time for them to come clean and count the real cost of asset sales,’’ he said.
“The real cost will be borne by these small towns.
“How many rural jobs have already been lost to rural towns? ‘‘We’ve already seen 60 job losses from the railways in small towns in the North West in 2014 and the government washed their hands clean of any responsibility.’’
When he appealed in Parliament to the Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Scott Emerson for help regarding those railway workers laid off last year, the minister said he would like to help, but the railways were now privately owned, so he couldn’t, Mr Katter said.
“That was his excuse last year and we’ll expect to hear more of those excuses next term when they’ve sold off our ports, our power companies, our rail lines and our water pipelines and thousands of Queenslanders have lost their jobs.
“‘We’d like to help, but we can’t because they’re now privately owned’.
“That will be the refrain from the LNP if they persist in their asset sales.
“It will be the same when prices increase and service levels diminish.
“The recent claim by the Treasurer that NSW and Victoria’s experience shows prices will go down is either grossly ignorant or straight-out misleading.
“The only reason the prices didn’t increase in those states is because they didn’t have network expansion demands like Queensland did.
“Anyone with any knowledge of the electricity industry is well aware of this fact.”