THERE should be no deliberating from state member for Mount Isa Rob Katter about which party gets his vote if he holds the balance of power with fellow Katter’s Australian Party MP Shane Knuth.
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Mr Katter must break ranks from Peter Wellington if the Independent MP elects to side with Labor.
Numerous permutations cloud the outcome of the state election, including a possible Ferny Vale by-election. Labor might only need Mr Wellington’s vote to scrape over the line and form a minority government. With the KAP MPs’ support, it would likely be a done deal.
But how can Mr Katter support the party so much of his electorate is absolutely frightened of?
When it emerged the KAP MPs were deliberating over a decision to side with Labor, the groans of concern echoed across the North West.
The Greens’ influence to Labor, outlined by their preferences to the party, should be enough for the KAP MPs to realise a Labor government would be disastrous for the North West.
Labor might have a plan for regional Queensland, but its crippling policies outweigh any attempt to build up the state outside of Brisbane.
Agriculture is ”not in a good way” as Mr Katter put it earlier this week, but imagine how the industry would be faring in the hands of Labor.
Tree-clearing laws, the previous live export ban, heavy-handed Wild Rivers protection - they are only a few of the policies likely to be restored by Labor that will be detrimental to graziers.
There’s also trouble for the future of the copper smelter and uranium mining with a Labor government.
The Katter MPs main gripe with the LNP was asset sales, but the party has already taken that plan off the table. It leaves regional funding as the only score to settle with the LNP.
If the LNP can agree to better allocation of Royalties for the Regions funding, then there should be no need for the Katter MPs to mull over their decision.
This is a chance for Mr Katter and the KAP to work with the LNP, not against it.
Nobody is suggesting the decision before the KAP MPs is an easy one, especially making a choice with no clear party taking the reins of power.
There has been disapproval of the Coalition government at a federal level, but in the Mount Isa electorate the LNP was the surprise second pick ahead of Labor.
There was an eight per cent swing against Labor in the seat, mounting to a 25 per swing against the party since 2009.
The people of Mount Isa have definitively spoken.
After years of Mr Katter denying he was getting a raw deal because he wasn’t aligned to one of the major parties, it would be absolute hypocrisy for him to go against his electorate’s wishes and side with Labor. This is a chance for Mr Katter and the KAP to work with the LNP not against it.
