Australians have been left divided over a controversial call to split one state in two and create a completely new one.
Queensland Nationalist Senator Matt Canavan announced he wants North Queensland to be its own state in an opinion piece published on August 23.
Mr Canavan said it made sense to form a new state as North Queensland’s population continued to grow and people’s needs remained unmet.
“More than a million people now live in North Queensland, twice as many as in Tasmania,” he wrote in The courier mail.
‘North Queensland generates 25 per cent more economic output per capita than South Queensland. Yet we are governed by a government focused on 50-cent tariffs and an Olympics taking place thousands of miles away.’
He explained that Australia’s founding fathers imagined that future populations would create new states and built that assumption into the constitution.
Former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said he likes the idea of separating Brisbane’s “conscious inner city” from its regional counterparts.
Mr Newman did not agree with Mr Canavan’s proposal, but said it was worth considering.
Queensland National Senator Matt Canavan has said he wants North Queensland to become its own state.
Mr Canavan wrote an opinion piece on the matter and explained that this only makes sense as North Queensland has a larger population than Tasmania.
“Queensland is a very big place and geographically, they’ve always had the feeling that up north Brisbane doesn’t listen to them,” he said. News from heaven.
‘I know it may seem like more politicians and more government are needed, but I actually think people in the North see it as a way to free themselves from the constraints of people in the South.’
Independent Senator Gerard Rennick, who left the Liberal National Party (LNP) in August, also found “no problem” with the idea of creating a state in North Queensland.
“Regions definitely need more support and return on the wealth they generate,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
Green Senator Penny Allman-Payne, who lives in Gladstone, accused the LNP of being divisive.
“Unlike other regional Queensland senators, I don’t pit city dwellers against regional, rural or remote communities, nor do I pick and choose which Queenslanders I fight for,” Senator Allman-Payne said.
‘The LNP should stop creating division and try to work for the interests of all Queenslanders, no matter who they are or where they live.’
Social media users also criticised the proposal.
“Here we go – another state that needs billions so more politicians can play tricks with our taxpayers’ money and spend it unchecked. God help us all,” wrote one.
“This guy has gone crazy, why do we need ANOTHER state?” wrote a second.
Queenslanders are divided on the idea, with some saying it is a waste of taxpayers’ money and others suggesting it could help regional populations (file image)
The idea had a lot of support among rural voters, who were fed up with feeling excluded and unappreciated.
“There’s no money in North Queensland, I can’t wait to see (Premier Steven Miles) and his corrupt mates go,” one person said.
‘North Queensland should be its own state!’
In his article, Mr Canavan, who lives in central Queensland, criticised city politicians who make up a large part of parliament.
“All our premiers and the Prime Minister are from capital cities. When the National Cabinet meets, there is no representation from regional Australia,” he wrote.
He explained that the House of Representatives is based on population, which results in two-thirds of its members being from capital cities.
In the Senate, “the situation is even worse,” since more than 80 percent of senators live in the capitals, he added.
He also criticised Anthony Albanese for making a joke about its closure of the live sheep trade on August 19.
While “thousands of Western Australian farmers face ruin”, the Prime Minister was sitting in the Lodge “laughing about it”, he said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Canavan for comment.