Newsroom

November 6, 2024

As more than 55 bushfires blaze across the state and North Queensland landowners report uncoordinated Brisbane-centric response, Member for Traeger Robbie Katter is putting the new LNP Government on notice to prove its worth over its woke predecessor.

“We have been assisting property owners battling fires in the Torrens Creek – Pentland region, Cloncurry, and Woodstock Station near Richmond, where the state response has been, in some cases, much more of a hindrance than a help,” the Traeger MP and Leader of Katter’s Australian Party said.

“As some North Queensland property owners have told me, the volunteer firefighters from Brisbane would be great at putting out house fires in the city, but when it comes to the bush, we need to enable the people on the ground who know what they’re doing.”

Mr Katter said the onus was on the new LNP Government to allow rural landowner expertise and knowledge to lead the way while still providing fit-for-purpose support without red tape and unwarranted oversight.

“We’ve just emerged from years of state Labor that had aggressive overreached to buy up more land for already under-resourced national parks, lock up vegetation and introduce a Climate Tax, while failing to follow through and adequately manage that land.

“North Queenslanders have voted out the woke and shallow ideological motivations of Labor and expect the LNP to lead with more common sense and integrity.”

Mr Katter’s office had been assisting station owner and fire warden Nikko Lord from Woodstock Station between Richmond and Croydon in the wake of fires through the district.

Mr Lord said the volunteer crew that was sent from Brisbane was late, disorganised, bound by fatigue management rules, and failed to carry out crucial jobs like refuelling aircraft.

He called for landowners to be better equipped and enabled with the release of funding to buy four firefighting units for the region and help property owners cover costs of their own equipment and aircraft used to fight fires and assist the Queensland Fire Department and Rural Fire Services.

It comes as Mr Katter’s office assists fire-affected landholders in the Torrens Creek – Pentland region in seeking reimbursement of private aircraft use, hindered by legislation allowing compensation only for select aircraft models.

Further west, during recent inspections of fires along the Mount Isa – Boulia Road, Mr Katter called out the Government for not properly maintaining the roadsides and committing resources to reducing fuel loads.

“It’s sadly a common story – private landholders and volunteers battling fires for weeks because of the completely inadequate fire mitigation works carried out on state-owned land,” he said.

Mr Katter’s ongoing efforts to reduce bureaucracy surrounding fire management also included removing the requirement for volunteer firefighters to hold a Blue Card, as well as supporting key priorities identified by landowners affected by the recent Torrens Creek – Pentland fires and last year’s Blackbraes National Park fires.

They included better collaboration between National Parks, landowners, and Fire Services; better coordinated Strike Teams; changed laws to allow piston engine aircraft to be eligible for compensation; earlier reporting of fires by the Rural Fire Service to Firecom and upgraded communications to map current operational UHF towers.