31/10/2026
Unfortunately, Mr Katter does not make a reasonable case for a North Queensland State and needs refine his presentation.
Offering a vague boundary for a new Northern Queensland State is unhelpful, especially when both the Commonwealth and Queensland governments already have a recognized border, as defined under the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facilities Act 2016, which includes the 49LGAs of Central and North Queensland.
This border includes more than one million residents and guaranties the provision of 5 Federal electorates which would assist with the case that it should get the same allocation of Senators as the founding states. It must be noted that the creation of a Northern Queensland State does not increase the number of Federal politicians, rather we simply retain our entitlement to five electorates while if the case of a full allocation Senators, then each State would be reduced to 10, down from the current 12.
In respect to financial viability, in 2024, Central and North Queensland regions contributed 20% to the total Australia merchandising sea exports of $473Billion.
Mr Katter also clouds the process. Central and North Queensland are regions of an existing state, not Federal territory. Accordingly, the initiation of the new state process lies solely in the domain of the Queensland parliament. The NSW New State Referendum Act 1966 and the subsequent referendum of 29th April 1967 provides the template for the process and the legal precedent that only the enrolled votes within the defined boundaries of the proposed new state are eligible to cast a ballot.
The Commonwealth only becomes a party to the process if the referendum and the purposed New State proceeds to finalize process by seeking admission to the Commonwealth of Australia.
Bob Katter says Australia was “paying a terrible price” for allowing North Queensland to be governed by politicians 3000km away as he continued his campaign for a new state.
Mr Katter gave a live demonstration of where the borders for his proposed seventh Australian state would be during a typically eccentric Sunrise appearance on Friday.
The federal MP for Kennedy cited the works of French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville and Australian author Geoffrey Blaney to summarise the situation in the far north.
Mr de Tocqueville popularised the term “tyranny of the majority” in the 1830s, while Blaney’s last book was titled “The Tyranny of Distance”.
“We’re 3000km away from where the decisions are made (in Brisbane),” Mr Katter said.
“And of course, they have … three million people in the southeast corner. And we have under one million people in North Queensland.
“Now, Australia is paying a terrible price for that
“If we’re running our own affairs in North Queensland, the Galilee Coal Basin would be opened, doubling the coal production for, I would argue, for Australia, but most certainly for Queensland.”
Bob Katter has continued his campaign to make North Queensland the country's 7th state.
Bob Katter has continued his campaign to make North Queensland the country's 7th state.
The veteran MP said North Queensland’s ample water through heavy seasonal rains could be captured to grow population centres in the state’s midwest, not unlike its US namesake.
“They got a separate state called Colorado,” he said. “So they had about 70,000, 80,000, and we had about 50,000 in North Queensland.
“Now they have six million, and we have sunk down in the midwest to 20,000.”
Asked where he would draw the line to divide north and south, he said it made sense to cut the state in half between Rockhampton and Longreach.
“That area doesn’t have much rainfall,” he said.
“There’s not many people living between Rockhampton and Longreach.
“Up here, you’ve got big populations, Townsville, Cairns, Mackay, very big areas population-wise.
“And development-wise, you know, they’re massive producers of sugar, one of the biggest sugar-producing areas in the world.
“Whereas down here, you know, a few moo-cows walking around. And I’m not knocking that up. I come from an area where a few moo-cows walk around.”
Bob Katter said the state’s north had massive production capacity. Picture: Channel 7
Bob Katter said the state’s north had massive production capacity. Picture: Channel 7
Mr Katter said a majority of people in North Queensland, the wider state and the whole country would need to agree for the new state to be born.
He said that was “nigh on impossible to achieve” adding Australia’s constitution was written by a “fat, drunken womanising buffoon”.
“But, you know, there’s ways of cutting the Gordian knot,” he said.
“And we get one really good, big, savage cyclone, and the people will be so enraged and angry that I’m hoping that would precipitate (the change).”
Sunrise co-host Monique Wright asked Mr Katter “if we saw this cut across here and up here, would we hear Premier Katter?”
It followed jibes from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in parliament this month who said a new state was “not on my bingo card”.
“The idea of a break-up of the states, including the great state of Queensland, would perhaps see a Premier Katter in Far North Queensland,” the Prime Minister said.
“Which might or might not be a good thing.”
Cairns is one of the biggest population centres in the north.
On Friday Mr Katter clarified “I enjoy my position at the present moment, I’d have to say”.
“But, you know, what I want to tell you is that is currently arguably the biggest mineral province on earth … We haven’t touched it because we can’t get the product out,” he said.
“There’s no way of getting to a port unless you go all the way down to Charters Towers and then back up to Townsville. So, that mineral field is dead.
“Stupid Brisbane has removed the use it or lose it clauses, so we’re not doing any mining here. We are in Mount Isa, but effectively no mining because use it or lose it was taken.”
One of the biggest sticking points, he said, was the impact of a secession on State of Origin and Queensland’s side.
“Jokes aside, that is one of our biggest problems in convincing people,” he said.
“What State of Origin looks like? I tell them up north, you know, we lack ambition.”
He said the north “always used to beat” the south in the days before a unified Queensland team, and would “bash the living daylights” out of NSW on its own.
Originally published as Bob Katter maps out new North Queensland state on Sunrise
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1680521240132464
