North Queensland MP George Christensen wants death penalty for child killers

OUTSPOKEN North Queensland MP George Christensen wants to see the death penalty brought back to Australia – for two crimes in particular.

OUTSPOKEN North Queensland MP George Christensen wants to see the death penalty brought back – but knows it won’t happen.

In a wide-ranging interview, the conservative firebrand told The Courier-Mail his views on many flashpoint topics, including sharing a surprising family connection to the same-sex marriage debate.

One of the staunchest opponents to same-sex marriage in the Coalition, Mr Christensen said: “I’m firmly of the belief marriage is between a man and a woman, but you know what, I don’t care if two blokes shack up or two women shack up.

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“I’ve got cousins who are lesbians. Both of them support same-sex marriage and know I don’t.

“I haven’t discussed it with them, but if I did, I can’t believe it’d be a heated argument, we’d just agree to disagree.”

The maverick MP for Dawson has made headlines lately, whether it is for talking up immigration restrictions for Muslims or threatening to cross the floor on superannuation.

It has created a problem for the Turnbull Government, which holds a one-seat majority, with Mr Christensen playing up the power that position gives him.

Mr Christensen knows his views cause a stir but said he “wasn’t sent to Canberra to be a wallflower”.

Dawson MP George Christensen in Mackay. Picture: Kym Smith

“If I’m not speaking up when I see something I think is wrong, I feel like I’m not doing my job,” he said.

But it has also frustrated some of his colleagues who have been advocating for the same changes behind the scenes.

Mr Christensen scoffed at suggestions he had too much influence on Government policy.

“If I did, Nebo Road (in Mackay) would be paved with gold,” he said.

He said he would like to see the death penalty brought back, but only for specific cases.

“I personally think it’s warranted in some instances, but I’m not Gung-ho enough to think I can, or anyone can, reinstate it in Australia,” Mr Christensen said.

“I think it’s warranted in terrorism involved in death or crimes where children are raped or killed.”

Mr Christensen, whose electorate includes a vast agricultural sector including cane farmers, railed against a proposal from Coalition MP Russell Broadbent, who wanted a 10 per cent tax on wholesale sugar to fight obesity.

“If there was a tax on sugar, I’d still be fat. It’s what you put in your gob, not the tax you put on it,” he said.

“Over time you get more and more health Nazis dictating for more and it will go up and then it will hurt the one industry we’ve got here in Mackay that’s still going well.”