Newsroom

October 23, 2025

Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Leader and Member for Traeger, Robbie Katter, has commended Queensland councils for taking a strong stand against the Federal Government’s misguided efforts to label Buffel Grass as a weed of national significance, describing the proposal as another example of city-based decision-making gone mad.

“The united stance from more than 200 councillors and council CEOs at this week’s LGAQ conference, supporting a Flinders Shire Council motion urging the Federal Government to reject any move to list Buffel Grass as a weed, should be a loud wake-up call for bureaucrats in Brisbane and Canberra,” Mr Katter said.

“The KAP has been hammering this issue for a long time, demanding stronger action on Queensland’s genuine pest and weed crisis for years, while successive governments turned a blind eye.”

“We already have a chronically underfunded Department of Agriculture that can’t keep up with the state’s exploding pest and weed epidemic, yet the Federal Government focus is on their plan to lock up 30 percent of Australia’s land mass to polish their green credentials, instead of investing in on-ground management and recognising those who actually care for country.”

The Member for Traeger said Buffel Grass had revolutionised grazing in the North and the Gulf, helping build resilience and sustainability across Queensland’s $8 billion beef industry.

“Buffel Grass has been a game-changer for graziers. It’s the reason so many family operations have been able to stay on the land through droughts and tough seasons. The best environmental managers we have are the people who live and work on the land.”

“Calling it a weed shows how out of touch these departments are,” he said.

Mr Katter said the push to brand Buffel Grass a weed shows exactly what happens when policy is written from Brisbane and Canberra boardrooms instead of outback stockyards.

“Queensland’s prosperity is built on industries such as cattle, not ideology. The message from councils and communities couldn’t be clearer – leave the management of North Queensland to North Queensland,” he said.