On Tuesday we reported that the Cloncurry electoral office of Robbie Katter was forced to close on Friday.
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According to current parliamentary rules state members are only entitled to two offices and with the new seat of Traeger having offices for the two major population centres, Mount Isa (19,000 people) and Charters Towesr (8000 people), Cloncurry as the third major centre of the electorate loses out.
The original creation of the massive seat of Traeger in lieu of Mount Isa and Dalrymple was a disgrace the Queensland Redistribution Commission should be ashamed of and now this additional blow is a serious insult to the injury of under-representation for North West Queensland.
Traeger is 406,430 square kms wide, which if it were a country would be the 60th largest in the world.
Mr Katter, the member for Traeger, has the difficult of adequately representing two major centres 800km apart and now has the additional problem of not having a Cloncurry base.
The insult to the people of Cloncurry is particularly profound.
The office is a defacto government bureau where people bring all sorts of problems which can be discussed and often brought to the right people in various government agencies to resolve.
As Cloncurry mayor Greg Campbell said the office was also a great resource for community groups and individuals who just need a quiet space to get together.
The closure of the office is hard too on Cloncurry electoral officer Sarah Harvey who is very valued member of the community.
The North West Star fully endorses Cr Campbell’s call to the Palaszczuk government to create a new job in the town, whether it be a youth worker or support midwife.
I understand the closure is due to parliamentary rules outside of the control of Annastacia Palaszczuk but I hope the Premier does not hide behind those rules to avoid helping the people of Cloncurry.
It is important this government rules for all Queenslanders and not just those seats on the coast that seem to have the clout when it comes to elections.
Derek Barry