May 30, 2022
Katter’s Australian Party’s (KAP) has pledged to provide genuine regional representation to the communities of Callide should they elect Biloela-based coalminer Adam Burling at the June 18 Callide by-election.
A well-known local, Mr Burling has today been formally announced as running under the unashamedly pro-regional party’s banner.
Mr Burling, who was born in Longreach, is a coal miner and a self-confessed patriot who served for six years in the Australian Army Reserve.
He said he was 100 per cent committed to making Callide a stronger community.
“Whether it’s coaching soccer, rugby league, basketball, a Cub leader with the Bilo scouts, volunteering in the kids’ tuck-shops or performing the Secretary's role for the P&C at the Biloela State High School, I’m happiest when I’m contributing to, and building, our community in some form or another,” he said.
“Callide is rural and regional electorate and, by default, we have to always fight for our fair share from Brisbane and Canberra.
“I, like a lot of people these days, are not confident that the two major parties are able to genuinely represent communities like ours – time and time again they have proven they are willing to throw the regions out to sea on net-zero and reef regulations to sure up their ‘green credentials’.
“We are progressively sold out time and time against so Labor and to a degree the LNP can try and ‘out-left the radical left’ such as the Greens which, as we saw during the most recent Federal Election, are gaining ground in the highly-populated, inner-city suburbs of the major cities.
“I believe strong voices like that of the KAP are the genuine counterpoint to this trend – it is something many Australians are genuinely screaming out for and I want to be part of the pushback.”
Mr Burling said he choose to run for the KAP because of its unflinching support for primary producers and the Australian working class, as well as its unwavering opposition to vaccine mandates.
“I remember driving out of Longreach in 2020 and hearing Robbie Katter on 4LG radio saying they will back coal no matter if it loses them votes, and thought ‘wow, that’s commitment to the industry!’
“I knew that when my chance came the KAP was where I wanted to pledge my allegiance, and become a part of that unflinching support and commitment."
Mr Burling said witnessing the determination behind the KAP’s campaign to reverse the crippling reef regulations, which apply across Callide, was also key factor in his decision to throw his lot in with the party.
“The Queensland State Labor Government’s Environmental Protection Act came into effect in the Burnett Mary river basin area in 2021.
“The Burnett Mary basin is in part fed from the Callide Electorate, so that means our primary producers are under the hammer to comply with ideologically-driven environmental regulations which can very likely destroy their livelihoods.
“Current and past regulation has severely depleted the fishing industry in Queensland, all but killed off dairy and now cherry-picked leftist reef science is trying to do away with the rest.
“The KAP’s recent Reef Reversal Bill wasn’t successful in Qld Parliament because the LNP didn't back it, didn't back our farmers but instead sided with Labor and voted it down.”
If successful on June 18, Mr Burling says he will be an unwavering, incorruptible representative for the people of the Callide electorate.
“Unlike candidates for the Brisbane-based parties, I will never be put in a position of voting against the interests of Callide, and never will.”
Mr Burling identifies a lack of action on key local concerns such as jobs, water storage, health, housing, roads and local council funding as other areas he will be strongly advocating for in Callide if elected.
KAP Leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter said the party was very proud to endorse Mr Burling, who he was confident would make a very powerful MP.
“No electorate in Queensland has ever regretted electing a KAP MP – we are unashamed in our convictions and our allegiance to the advancement of rural and regional Queensland,” he said.
“Our allegiance to the coal workers, to the farmers and the battlers and to the every day people who feel forgotten by their two major parties is unquestionable.
“Callide would be a much stronger place if it elected a KAP MP on June 18.”
ADDITIONAL BIO INFORMATION
Adam Burling has spent the better part of his adult life working in the resources industry, starting out as a Quarry Laboratory Technician before being elevated to supervisory roles.
He has held management roles in quarries and concrete plants, and was General Manager of a Silica Sand Mine near Bundaberg before his move to the Callide Mine.
Mr Burling ranks his six years as an infantryman with the Australian Army Reserves as a most rewarding experience, along with his work as Vice President of the Callide Valley Lodge with the Qld District Mining and Energy Union.
His commitment to the well-being of his fellow workers has also lead him to train and qualify as a Mine Rescue member.
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