BOB Katter wants to stabilise the price of station properties across mid-west Queensland to make them more affordable for young Australians who grew up on the land.
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The Federal Member for Kennedy believes this can be done by adding 800 blocks of land on the property market that will have licences for irrigation.
These properties would tap into the water of the Burdekin, Flinders and gulf river catchments in area covering Camooweal in the west to Charters Towers in the east.
“The big corporates came in and foreign corporations, but mostly Australian corporations, drove property out of the reach of every sensible person in the country,” Mr Katter said.
“So we are going to dump onto the market 700-800 irrigation blocks on the market.
“That will enable young people to take irrigation blocks to make more money their parents on a cattle station will make,” Mr Katter said.
The Queensland Government released an amended Gulf Water Resource Plan which allows a competitive tender process to draw water reserves from the Flinders and Gilbert River.
Mr Katter would like an alternative plan that was not delayed more assessments and judgements, or one that only allowed a small number of large corporate groups to benefit from the water allocations.
Mr Katter hoped to see a KAP bill come into the Queensland Parliament soon.
He had spoken to the two State KAP crossbenchers, his son and Member for Mount Isa Rob Katter, and Member for Dalrymple Shane Knuth.
The Federal Member said he was also leaning on the support of Speaker and Independent Member for Nicklin, Peter Wellington, to make the bill a possibility.