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The Guardian
02-08-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Does Queensland have a crocodile problem or a people problem?
'We from the country have had enough.' So ends the submission of Kelvin Douglas John Bunyan to a Queensland parliamentary committee considering legislation that would allow for safari style hunting and the harvesting of eggs of the most fearsome apex predator of the tropical north: the saltwater crocodile. The 177 submissions lodged in response to Katter's Australian party's Crocodile Control and Conservation bill 2025 are penned by the kind of rich and colourful cast for which the far north is renowned. And, like the country itself, they are submissions full of surprise and contradiction. There is the bowhunter, spearfisher, ex-professional fighter and diesel trucks driver who writes with passion and erudition that the proposed crocodile cull is 'incredibly naive', unscientific and dangerous – and then there is the general practitioner and standup paddle boarder who believes crocodiles need to be 'kept in their place' so that young people can get off their phones and back into the fresh waterways. There is the Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, which supports the bill 'overall' – though with the important caveats that Indigenous people play a more integral role in croc management and that the species' conservation be given greater emphasis. Then there is the Kunggandji Cultural Custodian to whom Kunjurra Kunggandji – or the saltwater crocodile in his language – is a totem, a spiritual guide, an ancestor and for whom the killing of this sacred animal is the killing of kin. Sign up: AU Breaking News email There are the tour guides who say they would be embarrassed to tell international visitors they lived in a state that slaughtered wild crocs and that removing salties would hurt their businesses. Then the charter boat operators and fishing guides who fear for their industries should the bill not pass. There is the houseboat resident who says she nearly lost her husband to a lunging croc a week after it took her dog. And the Daintree forest dwellers who say their swampy retreat is healthier with crocodiles in it. There is Bunyan, born in 1961, who grew up on a farm in the Innisfail region and who writes – almost entirely unburdened by punctuation – with echoes of the wild poetry of the Jerilderie Letter, that handwritten manifesto of the legendary bushranger Ned Kelly. 'At those times there was no crocodiles however eventually after 10 or so years we suspected that they're crocodiles and sure enough on New Year's Day in about 1983 several young children on the side of the river we're going down for a swim when a crocodile took their pet dog my father warned me that at some point that would be the case making one of the children but fortunately Oh well unfortunately for the dog he was the victim in that case … ' And there is the University of Queensland's crocodile expert, Prof Craig E Franklin. A global authority on Crocodylus porosus, Franklin is the scientific lead for the world's largest and longest active tracking program of crocodiles, which is done in collaboration with Australia Zoo on the saltwater crocs of far north Queensland. Franklin recommended the bill be rejected outright, describing it as 'foolish, misguided and dangerous'. In the end, it was by the likes of Franklin that the parliamentary committee tasked with reading through these submissions – and attending several public hearings as well as travelling through croc country – was swayed when they handed down their recommendations on the crocodile bill in late July. The Health, Environment and Innovation Committee recommended the bill not be passed and was, Franklin says, 'quite damning' of the proposal. The Gold Coast-based Liberal National party chair, Rob Molhoek, began his forward to the report by noting more Australians are 'injured or killed by everyday incidents like accidental falls, choking, drowning or homicide than by crocodiles'. In 2023 one Australian was killed by a crocodile, compared with six people by dogs, while accidental falling accounted for 4,105 deaths, choking 1,427 and drowning 204, he wrote. Molhoek cited Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service's croc expert, Simon Booth, who argued that even if crocodiles could be removed from the state's waterways, the stealthy ambush predators would still migrate in from afar. And the International Union on the Conservation of Nature's Crocodile Committee co-chair Charlie Manolis, who continued, with more than a hint of sarcasm, that making waterways safe in Queensland was 'simple'. 'You have to make crocodiles extinct entirely – remove every single one of them – and then put a fence up between the Northern Territory and Queensland, to stop them swimming across, put up another fence between Papua New Guinea and us to stop them coming down, and then you will be able to guarantee safety,' Manolis wrote. Finally, Molhoek signed off with a nod to those who said that crocodile attacks were often a result of people engaging in risky behaviour – and that the key to avoiding human fatalities was to encourage 'crocwise' behaviour. 'Throughout this inquiry, many submitters told the committee that fundamentally Queensland does not have a crocodile problem; Queensland has a people problem,' he wrote. For the man who tabled the bill, KAP's Shane Knuth, the 'people problem' line adds insult to injury. 'That is the biggest woke, insulting statement that I've ever come across since I've been in the parliament, 21 years,' he tells the Guardian. Knuth says his bill – which also called for the creation of a Queensland Crocodile Authority based in Cairns and the creation of 'zero-tolerance' crocodile zones – would help take the fresh waterways of the north back to the 'good old days' of the '70s, 80s, 90s and even early 2000s' when swimming the creeks and waterholes carried an 'acceptable risk'. He cites the example of the Tully River in his electorate of Hill, south of Cairns. 'That river, 20 years ago, was full of families camped on the sands, kids snorkelling,' he said. 'Now it is completely taken over by crocs'. Knuth rejects the evidence submitted by scientists which showed crocodile numbers were stable or still gradually recovering from being hunted to near local extinction. 'Just tell 'em to come swim across the North Johnstone River or the Tully,' he says. 'That's the true science of whether there is an explosion in croc numbers or it's an illusion'. The LNP defector from Tully laments that there were no north Queenslanders on the parliamentary committee, and that they 'wouldn't have a clue of the reality of what's going on here in the north'. Brisbane-based Franklin bristles at that criticism, which he says is frequently directed at him. 'I've spent well and truly more than a year of my life living under canvas in north Queensland catching crocodiles – and I do that safely,' he says. 'It is easy to live alongside crocodiles. It is just following common sense and some simple rules'. The crocodile researcher left Brisbane on Friday for a month of crocodile field work on the Wenlock River north of Weipa. Knuth's bill will probably be debated in parliament in coming weeks. If, as the parliamentary committee recommends, it is rejected, Knuth promises it won't be the last word on a croc cull. This is the fifth similar bill he has tabled since 2017. 'I will keep tabling and putting in bills until north Queensland is heard and action is taken'.
The Advertiser
31-07-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
'Economic death spiral' fear over ailing copper smelter
The north Queensland economy is facing an "economic death spiral" and the loss of 17,000 jobs without an immediate government bailout for mining giant Glencore's copper operations, regional leaders have warned. A delegation, including members of Katter's Australian Party, is in Canberra lobbying the federal government for funding to allow Glencore's copper smelter at Mt Isa to remain open. Last week, Glencore told staff it was preparing to put the smelter and Townsville copper refinery into care and maintenance until market conditions improve. The Swiss company closed its underground copper mine at Mt Isa this week, costing almost 500 direct jobs. Mt Isa Mayor Peta MacRae said the end of the mine's 100-year history was "devastating in itself". "But to hear that our smelter could potentially be going into care and maintenance, along with the refinery in Townsville, would put our economic ecosystem into a death spiral," she said on Thursday. "Without our smelter, there's no sulfuric acid for the phosphate, and without that phosphate and fertiliser, you will not have the agricultural industry in Queensland." Five hundred jobs are also under threat at Dyno Nobel's Phosphate Hill operations near Mt Isa, with a strategic review under way because high gas prices have made fertiliser production increasingly uneconomical. Glencore predicts its smelter and the Townsville copper refinery will lose $2.2 billion over the next seven years, and a decision to close them could come as soon as September. It was "no overestimation" to say that this would cost 17,000 direct and indirect jobs, Ms MacRae said, putting Townsville at an unemployment rate of 18 per cent, "which is simply unacceptable". Townsville Enterprise chief executive Claudia Brumme-Smith said the Queensland delegation had a "big day" of meetings with industry and government on Thursday to try to secure immediate support. "We don't have a lot of time. It's five minutes to midnight, and we need a deal right now," she said. Federal MP Bob Katter said there would be retribution at the ballot box, if the government allowed Mt Isa to vanish without a trace. "North Queenslanders have an enviable record in completely destroying politicians who treat us like this. So if you think that's a threat, I absolutely promise you it's a threat." Glencore head of corporate affairs Cassandra McCarthy told the ABC "we're running out of time". "It's not just about Glencore, it's about supporting the other miners in the region as well. And that's why we think it's worthy that the government looks at a solution that supports a region, not just the smelter." The Queensland and federal governments have indicated they want to strike a deal to keep the smelter open, but discussions are still under way. Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki said the federal government had a significant role to play in the negotiations "and it will be a national disgrace if the federal government and Glencore are not at the table negotiating". "The federal government must be part of a short-term solution while they develop a long-term strategy," he said. Glencore smelter employee Cameron Gibson said the industry was "pretty close to my heart" because his father had worked at the Mt Isa operation for 33 years and he had been there for 32 years. "This is not about a company, it's not about politics, this is about saving a community, it's about saving rural and remote Australia," he said. "The royalties that the governments get out of places like Mt Isa … that will stop, and that will create a cash flow problem for the governments and all levels." The north Queensland economy is facing an "economic death spiral" and the loss of 17,000 jobs without an immediate government bailout for mining giant Glencore's copper operations, regional leaders have warned. A delegation, including members of Katter's Australian Party, is in Canberra lobbying the federal government for funding to allow Glencore's copper smelter at Mt Isa to remain open. Last week, Glencore told staff it was preparing to put the smelter and Townsville copper refinery into care and maintenance until market conditions improve. The Swiss company closed its underground copper mine at Mt Isa this week, costing almost 500 direct jobs. Mt Isa Mayor Peta MacRae said the end of the mine's 100-year history was "devastating in itself". "But to hear that our smelter could potentially be going into care and maintenance, along with the refinery in Townsville, would put our economic ecosystem into a death spiral," she said on Thursday. "Without our smelter, there's no sulfuric acid for the phosphate, and without that phosphate and fertiliser, you will not have the agricultural industry in Queensland." Five hundred jobs are also under threat at Dyno Nobel's Phosphate Hill operations near Mt Isa, with a strategic review under way because high gas prices have made fertiliser production increasingly uneconomical. Glencore predicts its smelter and the Townsville copper refinery will lose $2.2 billion over the next seven years, and a decision to close them could come as soon as September. It was "no overestimation" to say that this would cost 17,000 direct and indirect jobs, Ms MacRae said, putting Townsville at an unemployment rate of 18 per cent, "which is simply unacceptable". Townsville Enterprise chief executive Claudia Brumme-Smith said the Queensland delegation had a "big day" of meetings with industry and government on Thursday to try to secure immediate support. "We don't have a lot of time. It's five minutes to midnight, and we need a deal right now," she said. Federal MP Bob Katter said there would be retribution at the ballot box, if the government allowed Mt Isa to vanish without a trace. "North Queenslanders have an enviable record in completely destroying politicians who treat us like this. So if you think that's a threat, I absolutely promise you it's a threat." Glencore head of corporate affairs Cassandra McCarthy told the ABC "we're running out of time". "It's not just about Glencore, it's about supporting the other miners in the region as well. And that's why we think it's worthy that the government looks at a solution that supports a region, not just the smelter." The Queensland and federal governments have indicated they want to strike a deal to keep the smelter open, but discussions are still under way. Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki said the federal government had a significant role to play in the negotiations "and it will be a national disgrace if the federal government and Glencore are not at the table negotiating". "The federal government must be part of a short-term solution while they develop a long-term strategy," he said. Glencore smelter employee Cameron Gibson said the industry was "pretty close to my heart" because his father had worked at the Mt Isa operation for 33 years and he had been there for 32 years. "This is not about a company, it's not about politics, this is about saving a community, it's about saving rural and remote Australia," he said. "The royalties that the governments get out of places like Mt Isa … that will stop, and that will create a cash flow problem for the governments and all levels." The north Queensland economy is facing an "economic death spiral" and the loss of 17,000 jobs without an immediate government bailout for mining giant Glencore's copper operations, regional leaders have warned. A delegation, including members of Katter's Australian Party, is in Canberra lobbying the federal government for funding to allow Glencore's copper smelter at Mt Isa to remain open. Last week, Glencore told staff it was preparing to put the smelter and Townsville copper refinery into care and maintenance until market conditions improve. The Swiss company closed its underground copper mine at Mt Isa this week, costing almost 500 direct jobs. Mt Isa Mayor Peta MacRae said the end of the mine's 100-year history was "devastating in itself". "But to hear that our smelter could potentially be going into care and maintenance, along with the refinery in Townsville, would put our economic ecosystem into a death spiral," she said on Thursday. "Without our smelter, there's no sulfuric acid for the phosphate, and without that phosphate and fertiliser, you will not have the agricultural industry in Queensland." Five hundred jobs are also under threat at Dyno Nobel's Phosphate Hill operations near Mt Isa, with a strategic review under way because high gas prices have made fertiliser production increasingly uneconomical. Glencore predicts its smelter and the Townsville copper refinery will lose $2.2 billion over the next seven years, and a decision to close them could come as soon as September. It was "no overestimation" to say that this would cost 17,000 direct and indirect jobs, Ms MacRae said, putting Townsville at an unemployment rate of 18 per cent, "which is simply unacceptable". Townsville Enterprise chief executive Claudia Brumme-Smith said the Queensland delegation had a "big day" of meetings with industry and government on Thursday to try to secure immediate support. "We don't have a lot of time. It's five minutes to midnight, and we need a deal right now," she said. Federal MP Bob Katter said there would be retribution at the ballot box, if the government allowed Mt Isa to vanish without a trace. "North Queenslanders have an enviable record in completely destroying politicians who treat us like this. So if you think that's a threat, I absolutely promise you it's a threat." Glencore head of corporate affairs Cassandra McCarthy told the ABC "we're running out of time". "It's not just about Glencore, it's about supporting the other miners in the region as well. And that's why we think it's worthy that the government looks at a solution that supports a region, not just the smelter." The Queensland and federal governments have indicated they want to strike a deal to keep the smelter open, but discussions are still under way. Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki said the federal government had a significant role to play in the negotiations "and it will be a national disgrace if the federal government and Glencore are not at the table negotiating". "The federal government must be part of a short-term solution while they develop a long-term strategy," he said. Glencore smelter employee Cameron Gibson said the industry was "pretty close to my heart" because his father had worked at the Mt Isa operation for 33 years and he had been there for 32 years. "This is not about a company, it's not about politics, this is about saving a community, it's about saving rural and remote Australia," he said. "The royalties that the governments get out of places like Mt Isa … that will stop, and that will create a cash flow problem for the governments and all levels." The north Queensland economy is facing an "economic death spiral" and the loss of 17,000 jobs without an immediate government bailout for mining giant Glencore's copper operations, regional leaders have warned. A delegation, including members of Katter's Australian Party, is in Canberra lobbying the federal government for funding to allow Glencore's copper smelter at Mt Isa to remain open. Last week, Glencore told staff it was preparing to put the smelter and Townsville copper refinery into care and maintenance until market conditions improve. The Swiss company closed its underground copper mine at Mt Isa this week, costing almost 500 direct jobs. Mt Isa Mayor Peta MacRae said the end of the mine's 100-year history was "devastating in itself". "But to hear that our smelter could potentially be going into care and maintenance, along with the refinery in Townsville, would put our economic ecosystem into a death spiral," she said on Thursday. "Without our smelter, there's no sulfuric acid for the phosphate, and without that phosphate and fertiliser, you will not have the agricultural industry in Queensland." Five hundred jobs are also under threat at Dyno Nobel's Phosphate Hill operations near Mt Isa, with a strategic review under way because high gas prices have made fertiliser production increasingly uneconomical. Glencore predicts its smelter and the Townsville copper refinery will lose $2.2 billion over the next seven years, and a decision to close them could come as soon as September. It was "no overestimation" to say that this would cost 17,000 direct and indirect jobs, Ms MacRae said, putting Townsville at an unemployment rate of 18 per cent, "which is simply unacceptable". Townsville Enterprise chief executive Claudia Brumme-Smith said the Queensland delegation had a "big day" of meetings with industry and government on Thursday to try to secure immediate support. "We don't have a lot of time. It's five minutes to midnight, and we need a deal right now," she said. Federal MP Bob Katter said there would be retribution at the ballot box, if the government allowed Mt Isa to vanish without a trace. "North Queenslanders have an enviable record in completely destroying politicians who treat us like this. So if you think that's a threat, I absolutely promise you it's a threat." Glencore head of corporate affairs Cassandra McCarthy told the ABC "we're running out of time". "It's not just about Glencore, it's about supporting the other miners in the region as well. And that's why we think it's worthy that the government looks at a solution that supports a region, not just the smelter." The Queensland and federal governments have indicated they want to strike a deal to keep the smelter open, but discussions are still under way. Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki said the federal government had a significant role to play in the negotiations "and it will be a national disgrace if the federal government and Glencore are not at the table negotiating". "The federal government must be part of a short-term solution while they develop a long-term strategy," he said. Glencore smelter employee Cameron Gibson said the industry was "pretty close to my heart" because his father had worked at the Mt Isa operation for 33 years and he had been there for 32 years. "This is not about a company, it's not about politics, this is about saving a community, it's about saving rural and remote Australia," he said. "The royalties that the governments get out of places like Mt Isa … that will stop, and that will create a cash flow problem for the governments and all levels."
Perth Now
31-07-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
'Economic death spiral' fear over ailing copper smelter
The north Queensland economy is facing an "economic death spiral" and the loss of 17,000 jobs without an immediate government bailout for mining giant Glencore's copper operations, regional leaders have warned. A delegation, including members of Katter's Australian Party, is in Canberra lobbying the federal government for funding to allow Glencore's copper smelter at Mt Isa to remain open. Last week, Glencore told staff it was preparing to put the smelter and Townsville copper refinery into care and maintenance until market conditions improve. The Swiss company closed its underground copper mine at Mt Isa this week, costing almost 500 direct jobs. Mt Isa Mayor Peta MacRae said the end of the mine's 100-year history was "devastating in itself". "But to hear that our smelter could potentially be going into care and maintenance, along with the refinery in Townsville, would put our economic ecosystem into a death spiral," she said on Thursday. "Without our smelter, there's no sulfuric acid for the phosphate, and without that phosphate and fertiliser, you will not have the agricultural industry in Queensland." Five hundred jobs are also under threat at Dyno Nobel's Phosphate Hill operations near Mt Isa, with a strategic review under way because high gas prices have made fertiliser production increasingly uneconomical. Glencore predicts its smelter and the Townsville copper refinery will lose $2.2 billion over the next seven years, and a decision to close them could come as soon as September. It was "no overestimation" to say that this would cost 17,000 direct and indirect jobs, Ms MacRae said, putting Townsville at an unemployment rate of 18 per cent, "which is simply unacceptable". Townsville Enterprise chief executive Claudia Brumme-Smith said the Queensland delegation had a "big day" of meetings with industry and government on Thursday to try to secure immediate support. "We don't have a lot of time. It's five minutes to midnight, and we need a deal right now," she said. Federal MP Bob Katter said there would be retribution at the ballot box, if the government allowed Mt Isa to vanish without a trace. "North Queenslanders have an enviable record in completely destroying politicians who treat us like this. So if you think that's a threat, I absolutely promise you it's a threat." Glencore head of corporate affairs Cassandra McCarthy told the ABC "we're running out of time". "We really need to know in the next couple of weeks whether there is going to be enough support on the table to allow us to continue to operate," she said. "It's not just about Glencore, it's about supporting the other miners in the region as well. And that's why we think it's worthy that the government looks at a solution that supports a region, not just the smelter." The Queensland and federal governments have indicated they want to strike a deal to keep the smelter open, but discussions are still under way. Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki said the federal government had a significant role to play in the negotiations "and it will be a national disgrace if the federal government and Glencore are not at the table negotiating". "The federal government must be part of a short-term solution while they develop a long-term strategy," he said. Glencore smelter employee Cameron Gibson said the industry was "pretty close to my heart" because his father had worked at the Mt Isa operation for 33 years and he had been there for 32 years. "This is not about a company, it's not about politics, this is about saving a community, it's about saving rural and remote Australia," he said. "The royalties that the governments get out of places like Mt Isa … that will stop, and that will create a cash flow problem for the governments and all levels."
Sky News AU
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Firebrand politician Bob Katter reignites his war of words with Terri Irwin over his 'lazy' crocodile hunting push
Firebrand politician Bob Katter has reignited his war of words with Terri Irwin, the widowed wife of beloved Australian conservationist Steve Irwin, after she labelled his bid to legalise crocodile hunting 'lazy' and 'sloppy'. Dr Irwin, director of Australia Zoo, was among nearly 200 stakeholders who made submissions to the committee overseeing a controversial bill introduced by Katter's Australian Party to allow croc culling and egg harvesting to keep populations in check and make recreational waterways safer. 'The Crocodile Control and Conservation Bill 2025 will increase the probability of crocodile attacks on people and impact the overall health of Queensland waterways,' Dr Irwin said in her submission. 'More than sixty percent of the clauses in this Bill are exactly the same as previous versions. In fact, it is such a lazy and sloppy attempt to recycle old draft legislation that the Explanatory Notes refers to the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection – the department has not been called that since 2017.' Speaking to Sky News, Bob Katter vehemently defended criticisms from Dr Irwin and Australia Zoo. 'What the hell would they know about it? They live in Brisbane. All they know about is crocodiles in cages. They've never lived where the crocodiles are,' Mr Katter said. 'Even I don't want crocodiles in cages.' Sky News requested an interview with Dr Irwin but a reply has not been received. Mr Katter's Australian Party's bill, which proposes the establishment of a Cairns-based Queensland Crocodile Authority to oversee a permanent crocodile culling program, has been rejected by a parliamentary committee. The bill seeks to legislate licencing for crocodile farms and sanctuaries, safari-style hunting and egg harvesting as a means of controlling the reptiles' growing populations and making recreational waterways safer. But the Health, Environment and Innovation Committee overseeing the bill has recommended it not be passed. "The committee agrees that public safety should always be a paramount consideration but ultimately concluded that no amount of culling or management will ever fully erase the danger posed by crocodiles," the committee's report said. Mr Katter said growing crocodile populations and a geographical expansion of their habitat was the result of an 'imbalance' in Queensland waterways caused by a 1970s ban of crocodile culling and egg harvesting. Reintroducing the controversial practice would keep the populations in check and reduce the risks of attacks on humans, he said. 'Human beings took the eggs for 40,000 years. You've stopped the human being from taking the eggs,' he said. 'Not one single one of the 300,000 crocodiles in North Queensland has ever got shot. If I've got a crocodile on my cattle station, I'm not even allowed to remove them. 'They're territorial. The mother has 60 little crocodiles. Well, they got to find a home and all North Queensland is territorialised now, so all they can do is move south.' A suspected crocodile sighting in the Noosa River on the Sunshine Coast in July has reignited debate about crocodile management in Queensland. Images captured by local fisherman James Graham through a sonar fish-finder of a crocodile-like figure on the riverbed have gone viral and made national news headlines. 'If I was in my normal fishing spots, a couple of hundred meters north, that's what a croc looks like,' he said. 'The thought (of a crocodile in the Noosa River) is truly absurd.' Dr Ross Dwyer, crocodile expert with the University of the Sunshine Coast, said it would be possible for a crocodile to inhabit the Noosa River, but 'highly unlikely'. 'This would be the furthest south a crocodile has been spotted down here in over 100 years,' he said. 'During the 20th century, crocodiles were hunted so extensively they were pushed back in their range in Queensland, and what we're seeing is the crocodiles starting to expand back into that natural habitat again. 'The Noosa River could be good habitat if there wasn't all that built up area and the water was warmer. 'The crocodile population is expanding. The water is warming up and we are going to see more of them in these southern parts of the range. 'They do have an important role in these waterways and it's something that we need to be proud of in Australia.' Queensland Parks and Wildlife rangers shot a crocodile found in the Mary River near Maryborough in February. "(Shooting) is certainly one of the tools in the toolbox and we do employ it in situations where public safety (is affected by) the risk of the crocodile persisting in the area," a spokesman told the ABC.
New York Post
24-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Children in remote communities denied seats on near-empty ‘Indigenous-only' charter flights
The Australian government will review charter flight arrangements for students living in remote outback communities after claims non-Indigenous students were prevented from boarding planes because they were not ABSTUDY recipients. Derek Lord, a father of two boys living in the far north west Queensland town of Normanton about five hours north of Mt Isa and eight hours west of Cairns in the Gulf of Carpentaria, said his sons faced a 'six-day ordeal' to get home after they were not allowed to purchase seats on a nearly empty, taxpayer-funded flight. Advertisement 7 Derek Lord said his sons faced a 'six-day ordeal' to get home after they were not allowed to purchase seats on a nearly empty, taxpayer-funded flight. Lord, who is the Air Traffic Services Reporting Officer at the tiny Normanton Airport, said he regularly sees 20-seat planes arriving with fewer than half the seats occupied. But he claims his two sons, who board at school in Charters Towers, 90 minutes southwest of Townsville, have been turned away from those same flights because they're not ABSTUDY recipients. 'My boys have been left sitting at the airport, bags packed, because they weren't allowed on a plane with empty seats,' Lord said in a statement via Katter's Australian Party (KAP) Leader and Member for Traeger, Robbie Katter. Advertisement 'We'd gladly pay for those seats — anything to avoid the six-day ordeal we have to go through with commercial flights to get them home for the holidays when roads were cut off due to flooding.' ABSTUDY, introduced in 1969, is a federal government scheme for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that offers education-related financial assistance, including course fees and travel costs for students who study away from home. 7 Lord said he regularly sees 20-seat planes arriving with fewer than half the seats occupied. Robbie Katter MP/Facebook Katter has slammed the new school charter flight arrangement as fundamentally flawed and unfair, describing it as a system that fosters division and fails to meet the needs of remote communities. Advertisement 'This is not an Indigenous problem. It's a remote living problem,' Katter said. 'When you've got families living in the same town, sending their kids to the same school, but being treated differently — that's wrong. It risks creating division in communities where it doesn't exist.' Katter said the situation had been made worse by the government's decision to hand the contract to a UK-based operator with no local experience, replacing long-time provider Volantair. 'We had a capable, locally based operator with 20 years' experience and regional knowledge,' he said. Advertisement 'Now we've got a foreign company charging up to $1157 per ABSTUDY seat — almost triple what a regular flight costs — and delivering a shambolic service.' 7 'This is not an Indigenous problem. It's a remote living problem,' Katter said. Google Maps The new operator, Air Charter Services, was appointed last year by Corporate Travel Management (CTM), which is responsible for the ABSTUDY charter contract. Air Charter Services and CTM have been contacted for comment. Since the change, according to Katter, planes had shown up without passengers to collect, flights had gone unused, and single-engine aircraft without weather radar had been deployed into some of Queensland's toughest flying conditions. 'Kids are being left stranded, rural and remote families are being ignored,' Katter said. 'It's time these services were made available to any child living remotely — not just those eligible under a narrow government program — and returned to experienced local operators who know the land, know the people, and care about the outcomes.' 7 The new operator, Air Charter Services, was appointed last year by CTM, which is responsible for the ABSTUDY charter contract. Robbie Katter MP/Facebook Advertisement Speaking to 2GB's Ben Fordham on Tuesday, Lord said he had even tried paying for seats on the planes but his sons were denied 'because they don't fall under ABSTUDY'. 'The carrier even agreed to take our money but the booking company that now does it, which is overseas, refused to allow our children to get on because they don't meet the criteria,' he said. 'We don't understand it either. It's taxpayer-funded. Even if we weren't willing to pay, the plane is coming here, it's being paid for by everyone's taxes whether you're Indigenous or non-Indigenous, the kids are from the same town.' Lord noted 'we're in the middle of a flood crisis and we couldn't get in our out', recounting the tortuous journey home for his sons. Advertisement 'So there was no way to get our kids home unless it's on a private charter ourselves, or through Rex, and Rex can be up to two, three weeks waiting for a seat,' he said. 7 Lord noted 'we're in the middle of a flood crisis and we couldn't get in our out', recounting the tortuous journey home for his sons. Google Maps 'We would have to bus them down to Townsville and then either bus them or plane them up to Cairns, and then they'd have to sit in Cairns over the weekend because there's no Rex flights, and then they'd have to fly home on Rex if we could get a Monday or Tuesday flight, and that's a big if.' He said 'even Indigenous leaders here don't understand it'. Advertisement 'I don't think it's about reconciliation, I think it's more about that the system is broken,' he said. 'The gap is not a gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous per se, it's regional versus non-regional. If you actually compared the two I think you'd find many of the non-Indigenous kids and families have the same disadvantages as Indigenous people in rural or remote communities.' Lord added that son's girlfriend was Indigenous and 'the first time this happened, she got on one flight and he had to get on the other'. 7 'I don't think it's about reconciliation, I think it's more about that the system is broken,' Lord said. Robbie Katter MP/Facebook Advertisement Fordham said it was 'absolutely mad'. 'Just put the kids on the same damn plane,' he said. A spokeswoman for Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek told the matter was being reviewed. 'The ABSTUDY program was introduced in 1969 by Liberal National Prime Minister John Gorton to help Indigenous students from very remote communities get access to education,' she said. 7 A spokeswoman for Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek told the matter was being reviewed. Getty Images 'Charter flights are only used where it is the cheapest or most cost effective alternative, from very remote communities. The allocation of spare seats is a matter for the charter company. The government agrees that empty seats should be made available for other students or community members to purchase where safe and practical to do so. The Minister will request updated advice from her department on this issue to ensure charter fees reflect value for money.' The Department of Finance, which manages all the whole of the Australian government travel contract, has previously clarified that CTM has no exclusive agreements with charter companies and will choose charter providers for the ABSTUDY program based on the needs of ABSTUDY travelers. 'CTM has encouraged competition through the expansion of charters available to be booked for the government, including the ABSTUDY program,' a spokeswoman for the department told Cairns Post last year. 'They have also recently included an additional 12 new charter service providers to the program, including two Indigenous businesses.'
