Newsroom

September 8, 2025

KENNEDY MP, Bob Katter, has today penned and delivered letters to the Minister for Agriculture, Julie Collins, the Minister for Local Government and Emergency Management, Kristy McBain, and the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, calling for urgent federal assistance to control the locust plague currently tearing through Queensland’s mid-west.

Mr Katter said the outbreak is “decimating pastures and crops, piling new misery on producers who are still reeling from repeated natural disasters in recent years.”

“In the Julia Creek floods of 2019, a hundred million dollars of federal funding may well have saved a thousand million dollars’ worth of cattle and maybe a hundred million a year in lost production,” Mr Katter said

“It is a classic example of the adage “a stitch in time saves nine” and Government needs to return to the agility that it had in years past.”

In his letter, Mr Katter stressed that local councils have sounded the alarm and urgently require additional resources to manage and contain the locust infestation.

“This plague has caused widespread damage to grazing country and cropping areas. Our producers are already battling from floods, fires, and droughts. They cannot be left to shoulder this crisis on their own,” Mr Katter wrote.

The correspondence calls for consideration of redirecting unspent funds from the 2019 North-West flood cattle disaster relief package, which Mr Katter says remain idle in Treasury.

“Our understanding is that there was an underspend from the 2019 flood recovery program, and those leftover funds, which have been accruing interest, are still sitting in Treasury. We’re simply asking that, at the very least, this interest be made available to support councils and landholders in fighting the locust plague now, and to strengthen long-term weed and pest management,” Mr Katter said.

The letter also pointed out that the Commonwealth has previously committed $20 million for pest and weed control in the south-west region and urged the Government to deliver an equivalent level of support for the North-West.

Mr Katter said the Treasurer’s role would be central to any immediate solution.

“Treasurer, your leadership and swift action will be vital in helping our communities manage this crisis and protect Queensland’s vital agricultural industry. Effective measures must be implemented without delay.”

Mr Katter reiterated that the issue is time-critical, with the potential to wipe out productivity in one of the nation’s most important cattle and cropping regions.