Again, in Wednesday's Armidale Express, Jim Belshaw who's been known to beat the New State drum more than once, is at it again.
Belshaw, who writes at his blog site New England, Australia and is not one who's known to be backward in coming forward, has called upon Tony Windsor, the Independent MP for New England, and the other 'country' (that's Belshaw's description, but I'd prefer to call then 'rural and regional') independents to do three things:
#1. Support the holding of a convention about state and commonwealth powers
#2. Support the holding of a (yet) another new state plebiscite in Northern NSW, and
#3. Apply a test to any specific initiatives to determine if the proposal has any real longer term impact on New England development, or whether it is just a 'band-aid'?
I have no real quarrels about #1 and #3, but as for #2 ... here we go round the mulberry bush again!
It seems Belshaw and the Mad Hatter from North Queensland are top-and-tailing it in the same bed. Belshaw is (figuratively) at the bottom end of the bed while the Mad Hatter is occupying the bed's top end
The Northern Star (Saturday, September 4) in a piece titled 'MP pushes for region to be split' states:
Bob Katter would have the Northern Rivers split in two, with towns such as Byron Bay, Kyogle, Mullumbimby, and Nimbin moving to Queensland, while places such as Lismore, Casino, Ballina,
The Channon, and Suffolk Park remain in NSW.
The split is part of a wider redrawing of state borders proposed by Mr Katter, which includes creating a new state of North Queensland, handing a big chunk of the Northern Territory to an expanded South Australia, and a rebranding of the Top End as North Western Australia as another new state that takes out the northern end of Western Australia.
The renamed ‘South Queensland’ would extend from Bundaberg south to Byron Bay, creating the Northern Rivers split.
Mr Katter’s argument is that the new division of state boundaries would let Australia better exploit its natural resources, improve farming in the north, and would accommodate an extra 100,000 people.
The idea would have to go to a referendum and is unlikely to ever see the light of day. It’s worth noting that the idea – although raised by the Kennedy MP as recently as last week – did not make his list of 20 ‘priorities’ handed to Labor and the Coalition on Thursday.
Here's a suggestion for both Jim and Bob: You need a cuppa tea, a Bex and a good lie down.Sources: The Armidale Express (September 1) and The Northern Star (September 4)
