For Matt Moloney the idea of “booting Brisbane” was a matter of equality.
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Boot Brisbane is a new organisation dedicated to getting a referendum for the residents of Central and North Queensland a Referendum to vote on the proposition of forming a new state and Mr Moloney is in Mount Isa trying to set up a new branch.
Mr Moloney said this was an issue whose time had come and rattled off a list of reasons why.
“First there’s the population growth, second there’s the disproportionate amount of wealth being created up here, third the way the seats are being arranged there is a really high disproportionate amount of representation in the south-east,” Mr Moloney said.
“I’m talking about the area from the Gold Coast to the northern beaches (Sunshine Coast), they have 75 seats in a 250km radius of the Brisbane and there is only 18 seats left for the rest of Queensland.”
Mr Moloney said south-east acted in its own self interest.
“That’s the way democracy works,” he said.
“We believe in democracy and what we’re asking is to be able to represent ourselves and have control over the issues that affect us.”
Mr Moloney said we made disproportionately more wealth in the north, especially the north west.
“But that wealth is going into the south east for one simple reason they have effective representation, and I suggest at the next electoral redistribution they’ll only have more,” he said.
“We want to set up a political entity where people have power over the wealth they have created.”
Mr Moloney said constitutionally we could not get rid of the states but it was perfectly possible to create new states.
He dismissed the argument a new state would create more politicians and public servants.
“We’re not creating another level of government, but the issue is under-representation,” he said.
“If you can’t control the scope of government where you live and you can’t control the spend, you don’t have effective representation.”
Mr Moloney said Boot Brisbane was not associated with any party and had members from all parties.
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
