Katter’s Australian Party wants to allow tourists to hunt crocodiles

KATTER’S Australian party has a controversial plan to lure tourists to Queensland, and it involves crocodiles.

KATTER’S Australian Party has a controversial plan to boost tourism in north Queensland — hunting crocodiles.

The party is drafting legislation, expected to be introduced before the end of May, to introduce

crocodile culling initiatives, which will include crocodile safari hunting. And it is threatening to block the Queensland government’s budget if it does not agree to support the legislation.

Member for Dalrymple Shane Knuth said crocodile numbers have “exploded” over the past few decades, which has locals living in fear and tourists afraid to visit northern Queensland.

“What is in our waterways are dangerous killers that are terrifying locals and tourists,” Mr Knuth told news.com.au.

“We don’t have access to big shopping centres, we have our water as our attraction and our major economic benefit.

“People come to Queensland to enjoy sunshine and beaches, but the images they are seeing now is croc attacks and croc signs everywhere. This is a very poor message to promote to international tourism.”

Queensland’s tourism industry is worth $11 billion, with more than 22 million tourists visiting the state each year.

Member for Dalrymple Shane Knuth (R) with Katter’s Australian Party State Leader and Member for Mount Isa Robbie Katter (L). They are proposing crocodile hunting as a way to cull crocs and boost tourism in northern Queensland. Photo: Claudia Baxter

And Mr Knuth said that allowing crocodile hunting will benefit Queensland’s state economy threefold. It will keep crocodile numbers down, repair its dangerous image among international tourists, and it will attract a new type of tourist.

“It will attract wealthy hunters all across the world who will pay a fortune,” Mr Knuth told news.com.au.

Under the plan, indigenous communities will also have the opportunity to run the safari hunting tours.

“These communities are looking for better opportunities to use the resources that they have,” Mr Knuth said.

The Katter’s Australian Party proposal will also include croc removal and egg collection initiatives.

But the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection stands firmly against the widespread culling of crocodiles, saying that it will do nothing for public safety and image.

“The Palaszczuk Government does not support the indiscriminate culling of crocodiles,” Environment Minister Steven Miles said in an emailed statement to news.com.au.

“A cull is not a solution to the risks posed by crocodiles — it would give the public a false sense of safety, leading to complacency and an increased risk of attacks.

“No matter how many crocodiles are removed, no waterway in crocodile country can ever be considered to be crocodile free. Even when crocodiles were almost hunted to extinction, crocodile attacks still occurred.”

Palm Cove beach was closed on a perfect North Queensland day after the sighting of a 2.5m crocodile behind the stinger net. Picture: Marc McCormack

Instead, he said the government should only remove the dangerous crocodiles.

“The science tells us that in crocodile country the best way to manage public safety is through proactive removals of large and dangerous crocodiles — and that’s what we are doing,” he said.

“The Government doesn’t support a cull, the Opposition doesn’t support a cull, the science doesn’t support a cull, and the majority of the public doesn’t support a cull. A cull is clearly a bad idea.”

But Mr Knuth said Katter’s Australian Party has gotten tremendous public feedback — including from those within the crocodile industry themselves.

“People want action. We are getting a huge amount of public support,” he told news.com.au.

“We even had a representative from the Port Douglas area, who relies on crocodiles for tourism, who is now telling us that they are possibly losing out on having too many crocs.

“Crocodiles lure tourists to the area but having too many scares them away.

“There is little to no control of this to the point where the croc has no predator. This year we have had eight beaches close and one of our most popular beaches, Port Douglas, closed because of a five-metre croc.”

According to the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, however, estuarine crocodiles — or salt water crocodiles — are listed as a vulnerable species under Queensland’s Nature Conservation Act 1992.

Crocodiles are also protected nationally under Commonwealth legislation and internationally under the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species. These arrangements also affect how crocodiles are managed in Queensland.