Newsroom

May 8, 2025

“While authorities continue to ‘talk’, and provide piecemeal ‘support’, the communities of the North West continue to live in as state of uncertainty about what the future holds,” the Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Leader and Member for Traeger, Robbie Katter has said in Mount Isa today.

At the North West MPX, the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines, Minister for Manufacturing and Minister for Regional and Rural Development told the gathered resources industry that Mount Isa and the North West’s resilience and endurance had built modern Queensland.  He also announced a small incentive for new phosphate mines to use the Mount Isa railway line.

“The announcement and recognition of the part the North West is welcome, however we need to get to the root cause of the prohibitive access arrangements applied to the Mount Isa rail line,” Mr Katter said.

“The government is pointing in the right direction, but we need more than just cash to subsidise producers – we need to totally reform the settings for the Mount Isa line, which systematically disincentivises usage of rail for bulk ore transport,” he said.

The MPX also heard Critical Minerals Queensland telling the crowd that the North West has the “World’s largest mineral deposits” for minerals.

“Mount Isa City Mayor Peta McRae hit the nail on the head when she pointed out the re-elected Prime Minister’s plans to build critical mineral stockpiles – Mount Isa and the North West hold the key to the Prime Minister’s aspirations,” Mr Katter said.

“At the same time, we have global commodity traders, Glencore, holding their critical minerals in the ground, attempting to hold the State and Federal Governments to ransom,” he said.

“We must ask; do we want our critical minerals future controlled by the whims of a global commodity trader, or do we want government departments to get their hands dirty and reconstruct these industries, not just subsidise in the short term?

“Our mining communities, right across the North West Minerals Provence and Traeger need to know that projects with these minerals are going to be allowed to progress, not just hear more and more ‘exciting announcements’.  Patience is running thin.

“The same can be said for CopperString, which has bought enormous potential, but without pylons in the ground and wires strung up, the North West is losing faith – and fast!”, Mr Katter said.