Townsville Bulletin

Alliance not on: Katter

- CLARE ARMSTRONG

ROBBIE Katter has rejected suggestion­s his party should form a conservati­ve alliance with One Nation and others to undercut the LNP’s regional base.

The suggestion to form some kind of regional alliance came from Nationals party life member and well- known Burdekin cane farmer Geoff Cox.

“The LNP are terribly concerned that a new party would fragment things,” he said. “I am also concerned … my interest isn’t in a new party to fragment things, it’s in a new party to collect things.”

But Mr Katter said he didn’t believe there was a “gap” in the North that needed to be filled by conservati­ves.

“I think Geoff’s trying to recreate something to do the job we’re already doing,” he said.

“I’d say our results in the last state election are a pretty strong endorsemen­t that the community backs what we’re trying to do.”

Mr Katter said he “rejects” Mr Cox’s statements the KAP were not broad- reaching enough.

“That’s the death that the National Party suffered, trying to go too broad,” he said.

The renewed interest in a northern- focused alliance comes as interest groups prepare to ramp up their push for the creation of a separate North Queensland state.

Pro- separate state groups from Townsville and Cairns are meeting for the first time in Cardwell on August 5 to form the “NQ State Alliance”.

 ?? Robbie Katter. ??
Robbie Katter.

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