Australians are divided over a controversial call to split one state in two and create a completely new one.
Queensland Nationals Senator Matt Canavan announced in an opinion piece that he wants North Queensland to become a separate state. He did this in an opinion piece published on 23 August.
Mr Canavan said it made sense to form a new state as North Queensland’s population continues to grow and the needs of the population are not being met.
“There are now over a million people living in North Queensland, twice as many in Tasmania,” he wrote in the courier post.
‘North Queensland generates 25 per cent more economic output per person than southern Queensland. Yet we are governed by a government focused on 50c rates and an Olympic Games thousands of kilometres away.’
He explained that Australia’s founding fathers foresaw that future populations would create new states and had incorporated that assumption into the Constitution.
Former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said he liked the idea of separating Brisbane’s “woke inner city” from its regional counterparts.
Mr Newman was reluctant to support Mr Canavan’s proposal, but said it was worth considering.
Queensland Nationals Senator Matt Canavan has said he wants North Queensland to become a state
Mr Canavan wrote an opinion piece on the issue, explaining that it only makes sense because North Queensland has a larger population than Tasmania.
“Queensland is a very large area and geographically they have always felt up north that they are not listened to by Brisbane,” he said Sky News.
“I know it might sound like more politicians and more government, but I think people in the north actually see it as a way to free themselves from the constraints that people in the south experience.”
Independent senator Gerard Rennick, who left the Liberal National Party (LNP) in August, also had “no problem” with the idea of creating a state for North Queensland.
“The regions absolutely need more support and need to get more returns on the wealth they generate,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
Greens Senator Penny Allman-Payne, who lives in Gladstone, accused the LNP of sowing division.
“Unlike other Queensland senators who run at a regional level, I don’t pit city people against regional, rural or remote communities, nor do I pick and choose which Queenslanders I fight for,” Senator Allman-Payne said.
‘The LNP must stop sowing division and seek to represent the interests of all Queenslanders, regardless of who they are or where they live.’
Social media users also reacted strongly to the proposal.
“Here we go – another state demanding billions so politicians can run off with our tax dollars and spend them without scrutiny – God help us,” one wrote.
“This guy is crazy, why do we need ANOTHER state,” wrote a second.
Queenslanders are divided over the idea, with some saying it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money, while others argue it could help regional residents (stock image)
There was strong support for the idea among rural voters, who were tired of feeling left out and undervalued.
‘No money in North Queensland, can’t wait for it to be over [premier Steven Miles] and his corrupt comrades,’ someone said.
‘North Queensland should be its own state!’
In his article, Mr Canavan, who lives in central Queensland, criticised politicians from the city who make up a large part of parliament.
‘All our prime ministers and the prime minister come from capital cities. If the [National Cabinet] “When meetings take place there is no representation from regional Australia,” he wrote.
He explained that the House of Representatives is composed based on population size, meaning that two-thirds of its members come from capital cities.
In the Senate it is “even worse,” where more than 80 percent of senators live in capital cities, he added.
He also criticized Anthony Albanese for making a joke about its closing of live sheep trading on August 19.
While “thousands of farmers in Western Australia are facing ruin”, the Premier was “sitting in the Lodge laughing about it”, he said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Canavan for comment.