Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to speak about 20 key points that were put together by some of the nation’s better intellects and I would like to think I made a small contribution to those myself. I have been pushing a number of these points over most of my lifetime. I move very quickly to them. No. 1 is the creation of a national energy grid, facilitating resource development; the decentralisation of population; and continuous access to renewable, clean energy resources, specifically solar, biofuels, wind and geothermal. The fuel for each of these is free forever. Government commitment to clean energy projects along the North Australia clean energy corridor section of the grid is essential to achieving a range of policy objectives common to both the ALP and the Liberal Party. Whilst the two giant projects, the Kennedy wind farm at Hughenden and the Pentland solar and biofuel project near Charters Towers, require little financial assistance they do, however, require a strong government commitment.

No. 2 is the removal of tax on Australian produced biofuels and the introduction of a statutory 10 per cent ethanol content in all petrol, rising to 22 per cent, as in Brazil. Such measure is to be overseen by a production and marketing implementation board, controlling prices from the farm gate to bowser, and allocating production centres for sugar and grain. Such board is to exclude representatives of the oil corporations, Woolworths and Coles. This will restore self-sufficiency in oil to our country, removing the aromatics and small particle emissions—both of which are carcinogenic—and will reduce the price of fuel to Brazil and United States’s prices—73c and 84c respectively. These were Sao Paulo and Minnesota prices in 2008. The Australian price of fuel at the same time was $1.38 per litre. This process will also reduce the carbon footprint, restoring viability to the grains, cattle and sugar industries by creating some 30,000 jobs in rural Australia.

No. 3 relates to addressing the two-chain oligopoly market concentration in the Australian food-retailing sector, with the option of divestment. Also, a maximum market share for any chain of only 22.5 per cent and/or adopting the European approach of a maximum mark-up of 100 per cent between the farm gate/factory price and the retail price, with a board to determine ‘unders’ and ‘overs’ and exceptions to the rule or some other similar proposal to restore a fairer and/or more competitive marketplace. This relates to the so-called Woolworths/Coles problems where these two entities hold over 85 per cent of the food market in Australia.

No. 4 concerns the preservation of the Trade Practices Act as it is, including sanctions on predatory pricing, and to amend section 46 to remove the requirement to prove motive with respect to anticompetitive behaviour. (Time expired)