Newsroom

September 10, 2024

KAP Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter was participating in the thousand-strong crowd at today’s ‘Keep the Sheep’ rally in Canberra, when he was invited to address the rally on stage.

The event was organised by farming groups impacted by the recent Government decision to ban live sheep export.

Mr Katter used the opportunity to remind Australia of how critically important the live export industry, as well as crop and cane farming, was to the nation’s economy and announced he’d be pushing for the right to arbitration for Australian farmers and called for the return of a “fair dinkum Country Party”.

Mr Katter slammed the National Party again for failing the industry over 20 years on from when he famously quit the party over their role in deregulating the industry. He said the hypocrisy of the National Party at today’s event was staggering when it was the Coalition Government (at the time) Sussan Ley, who was responsible for firing the first shot at killing the sheep live export trade when she moved the [1]Live Sheep Long Haul Export Prohibition Bill 2018.

“I honestly struggled to stand up on that stage and speak after listening to the other politicians.

“The current number two in the LNP in Canberra is Sussan Ley who was the first person to move for the abolition of live animals from Australia. It was pretty bad form from them taking over the rally skiting about protecting the industry if they return to power when they have a hand in its destruction.

“The sheep industry was the biggest income earner for this nation for 200 years was utterly destroyed by the former Labor government.

“I came from an area that once had 3.5 million head of sheep. I doubt we have even have 100,000 head now. Thank you, Mr Keating, for abolishing our statutory marketing.”

Mr Katter pleaded for the return of a true country-focused party with principles that aligned with the best interests of those that work on the land.

“I have a passionate commitment to getting a fair go and clearly, if you put statutory marketing back in, milk, eggs, wool, pork – the list goes on – they will go back up. Every worker should, deserves and must have arbitration for a fair and just economy. But if it is good enough for the employees, it should be good enough for the farmers.

“We must reregulate the industry and give the farmers their right to arbitration.

“As a kid of 13 I joined the Country Party and I stayed a member until the party changed and became another thing entirely. We need a Country Party back! We need a party back specifically there to represent us from the bush and I plead with you all, please back those that have your back.”

Photo: Bob Katter with Mark Harvey-Sutton from the Australian Livestock Exporters' Council and Shane McCarthy from AgForce Queensland