The Federal Member for Kennedy called on government to grant landowners with irrigation rights while touring the region last week.

The calls come off the back of a disastrous week for Northern Australian cattlemen following the decision by Indonesia to dramatically reduce its quota of live cattle imports for the next quarter.

Mr Katter said that following discussions with live cattle exporters, northern cattlemen, Carpentaria Shire Council and the Karumba Progress Association today, there was no doubt in his mind that the solution was serious irrigation.

“There need to be a few dozen 1300 hectare block irrigation grants,” Mr Katter said.

“The existing cattle industry and the development of Karumba as a port cannot be sacrificed to some corporate adventures that may simply starve the area of water.

“Cape York Peninsula has 150,000 head of cattle. It is the same size as Victoria and has nearly three times the rainfall, yet Victoria has nearly 4.5 million head of cattle.

“If they allow us the minute amount of irrigation blocks that we require – we’re talking about .1 per cent of the water and .001 per cent of the land – the benefit to the Australian economy is $7000 million a year.”

Mr Katter said he hoped the KAP members Shane Knuth and Robbie Katter, with support from Billy Gordon, would move aggressively to see an arc of development from the Coleman and Mitchell Rivers around to the Flinders and Gilbert Rivers.  These rivers include three of the six biggest rivers in Australia, with the Coleman River not far behind.

“The coming of irrigation onto Australia’s biggest and mightiest rivers is long overdue.

“We as a nation have got to assert ourselves and internationalist rubbish has got to be put in perspective.

“This will provide much needed jobs for our First Australians.

“Karumba, which is now exporting 15,000 head of cattle per year, should be exporting 300,000 head of cattle per year.

“It is an insanity to cart cattle from the Gulf, Cape York and even Mid-West back to Townsville, and the present insanity of bringing fodder the 700 or 800km from Atherton or Clermont to Karumba is almost ridiculous.

“If we want to be internationally competitive, we have to put in place processes that will provide for efficiencies.

“Where the Indonesians are paying $4.00 a kilo; but the cattleman gets $1.50 a kilo; then inefficiencies are mopping up $2.50 a kilo.  One can start to see the disastrous nature of the inefficiencies of this industry.

“But all the more credit to the people that have been the pioneers of this wonderful industry, which provides cheap, accessible, wet product to the very poor people of Indonesia. 

“We need to build on this industry as what Australia does very well is produce cattle. If only they will provide us with the small amount of irrigation blocks that we require,” Mr Katter said.

A spokesperson for the Minister for Natural Resources, Anthony Lynham, said the Queensland government shared Mr Katter’s vision for the North.

“The Palaszczuk Government shares Mr Katter’s commitment to the sustainable development of Northern Australia,” the spokesperson said. 

“We made an election commitment to provide strong support to the private sector to develop the North’s water and land resources sustainably.

“We want to see economic growth and jobs, but this has to go hand-in-hand with ensuring industry and communities in the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape York regions have water supplies they need.

 “As well, 80 per cent of Queensland is drought affected.

 “That’s why we approach water planning and management issues carefully.

 The Queensland Government is finalising amendments to the Gulf water resource plan and resource operations plan. 

“The new Gulf water resource plan proposes making new reserves of unallocated water in the Flinders and Gilbert river catchments available to support future agricultural development,” the spokesperson said.

 “This is underpinned by comprehensive CSIRO research to ensure that we are also meeting the needs of Gulf fisheries, the environment and existing water users.”

 “Our timetable is that the amended plan will be finalised next month, and that tenders will be called for the release of unallocated water in the Flinders River catchment in the third quarter of this year.”