Shane Knuth headed for court in latest chapter of speed camera stoush

A Queensland MP on a crusade against a controversial speed camera blitz will face court over a fine to prove a point.

An unmanned speed camera in Far North Queensland

A Far North Queensland MP on a crusade against a controversial speed camera blitz is set to face court over a fine to prove a point.

Katter’s Australian Party MP Shane Knuth will face Atherton Magistrates Court on November 26 for a single charge of disobeying the speed limit.

And the long-time Member for Hill signalled he would fight the charge.

Mr Knuth was clocked by the mobile speed camera in Malanda in late 2023.

“This is very important … I have got no problems that if I speed, I’ll pay the fine … I’m constantly on the road,” he said.

“I know there was something wrong with this camera.”

Member for Hill Shane Knuth

The court appearance comes after a controversial unmanned speed camera blitz in the small Far North Queensland town of Malanda, which hit locals with numerous fines at once and caused many to lose their licences and be slugged with thousands of dollars in fines.

More than 400 residents were hit with about 600 fines totalling more than $300,000 in Malanda — population 2500 — during the September 2023 blitz.

Mr Knuth has been on a one-man mission to have the fines overturned ever since, raising the issue multiple times through parliament and going so far as to call for a ministerial inquiry.

He has previously called into the question the calibration of the camera and why it was deployed on a stretch of road with a 60km/h limit and minimal crash history.

Transport and Main Roads last year confirmed the unmanned mobile speed camera was deployed in Malanda between September 7 and 21, 2023 and that 94 per cent of motorists who passed the camera were not fined.