mmg.com.au

Queensland MP Bob Katter has taken aim at Member for Murray Sharman Stone, calling her a liar and a hypocrite for her claims she engineered a motion to rescind the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

Dr Stone moved a motion with Member for Riverina Michael McCormack, which Mr Katter supported, but he claims he was the one who first sought support for the motion.

Speaking to the Riv after Wednesday’s Farmer Power meeting at Tongala, Mr Katter was typically blunt.

‘‘I rang through asking whether anyone was going to oppose the Bill and the whip told me no-one would. I told them I was going to move the motion next morning and then straight away they rushed in to move the motion,’’ he said.

‘‘I do like Sharman, I told the room (at the Farmer Power meeting) she is the best of the Liberals, but to hear her say she first made the move to cross the floor, well I am sorry Sharman, but that is a lie.

‘‘She had done nothing in the lead up to the Bill being passed and she only did something after I indicated I would.’’

Mr Katter also took aim at Dr Stone for keeping quiet on the issues of dairy deregulation and water buybacks.

‘‘She did not take action against her party when it came to dairy deregulation in the early 2000s, she also did not take action against Federal Government water buybacks in recent years,’’ he said.

‘‘She might be opposed, but by following the party line, she did nothing.’’

Dr Stone scoffed at Mr Katter’s comments, saying he was talking about sheer speculation.

‘‘He was gazumped and is sad about it. It is sheer speculation, it is on the record that we were the first to lodge the motion,’’ she said.

Dr Stone defended her opposition to dairy deregulation and water issues.

‘‘I fronted 700 angry farmers in Shepparton on the issue. The only motion I supported was one which allowed a government guarantee to compensate farmers for equivalent losses and I certainly was not going to step in the way of farmers on that,’’ she said.

‘‘The problem with Bob Katter is that he is away from parliament too often, he has no idea what is going on.’’