Newsroom

July 28, 2025

“Signs and slogans won’t stop croc attacks.”

Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) MP for Hill, Shane Knuth, has unleashed a scathing attack on the Health, Environment and Innovation Committees decision to reject the Crocodile Control and Conservation Bill 2025, labelling it an insult to the people of North Queensland.

The committee’s primary recommendations, to put up more signs and run more education campaigns, has been condemned as a shameful slap in the face to communities that deal with crocodiles every single day.

“North Queenslanders are being treated with absolute contempt, by a committee that doesn't have a single member north of Hervey Bay,” Mr Knuth said.

“We don’t need more Croc-Wise signs. We need real action to deal with an exploding croc population that is putting lives at risk.”

Mr Knuth said the committee’s failure to even acknowledge the growing scale of the threat shows how detached Brisbane decision-makers are from life in the North.

“There was public uproar when there were rumored sightings of crocs at Stradbroke island and Noosa, yet in North Queensland, our pristine waterways are infested with crocodiles.

Locals are told to ‘just read the sign’ and stay out of the water.”

The Crocodile Control and Conservation Bill 2025, tabled by Mr Knuth earlier this year, proposed:

• A zero-tolerance approach to crocodiles in populated waterways.

• Establishment of a Queensland Crocodile Authority (QCA) in Cairns.

• Support for Indigenous-led crocodile management and industry development.

• Clear legislation that prioritises human life over crocodiles.

Mr Knuth said the rejection of the bill ignores the irrefutable evidence that North Queenslanders are in danger.

“As crocodile numbers explode and the human population in the North continues to grow, we are guaranteed to see more near misses, more injuries and more deaths.”

“This isn’t fear-mongering this is what our community lives with. My office and I receive continual reports of large, aggressive crocodiles on farms and in popular swimming spots.

This is not an illusion. It’s a crisis.”

Mr Knuth also called out the "wokeness" of the major parties, highlighted in the tabled report, where it was noted that many submitters told the committee that fundamentally Queensland does not have a crocodile problem; Queensland has a people problem.

"If this is what the committee wants to highlight then there is a serious problem as it is probably the most insensitive, woke comment I have heard for a long time.

This does not represent the majority of views on crocodile management of those living in North Queensland.

It's frustrating when a committee made up of southern MP's believes they know what North Queenslanders want and its another example of the complete disconnect between northern and southern Queensland."

Mr Knuth urged North Queenslanders to stand up and demand better.

“We deserve the same right to feel safe in our communities and enjoy our waterways and beaches as anyone else does living in Queensland.

These recommendations are a joke and North Queenslanders should be furious.”