ELECTION 2010: Bob Katter targets Woolworths, Coles dominance in wish list sent to party leaders

Independent MP Bob Katter says he is still undecided on which party will win his support, but has delivered a 20-point wish list to Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard saying he will lean towards whichever party agrees with most of his demands.

The list includes some ambitious proposals, including plans to break Woolworths’ and Coles’ power over the food retail industry and an agreement to address food security in trade agreements. One demand also stipulates rural hospitals be locally run, but funded by the Commonwealth, along with another to scrap the resources rent tax.

The wish list comes after independent MP Andrew Wilkie said yesterday he will support the Labor party for supply and no confidence votes, but will not stand with Labor on every issue and will vote on a case-by-case basis.

Katter told a press conference this morning he did not believe he would receive all of the demands, which are more “conditions” than requirements, but indicated he would support a party willing to agree to more of them.

“[Julia Gillard] is indicating these things are not so hard and fast and set in concrete, and she wasn’t making any concessions on these items, but she was just saying there’s a lot of room for negotiation here and I think there is.”

“If Julia or Tony thinks I’m going to keep sitting out there even if my two colleagues were going to go the other way, you know, I’m still in a very powerful position here. You try running a government with one vote up your sleeve.”

The list of demands include:

• Creation of a national energy grid and the decentralisation of population and clean energy resources, which would help reduce emissions.
• A removal of the “oligopoly” in the food retail industry, suggesting a marketing share cap of just 22.5% for any one company.
• Remove of the bio-fuels tax.
• No carbon tax and no emissions trading scheme.
• No mining tax.
• Restoration of collective bargaining agreements for farmers.
• Equal rates of assistance for working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.
• A focus on the “unfair and artificially high value of the Australian dollar”, caused by pressure from interest rates which are out-of-step with international rates.

Katter says he will reject any “Andrew Wilkies”, referring to the Coalition’s $1 billion offer for the Tasmanian MP’s electorate. Wilkie instead backed Labor who offered $100 million for a new hospital in Hobart.

“I’m very proud to say there’s no Andrew Wilkies in here,” Katter says. “I would’ve thought my demands here were very, very moderate indeed.”

The list also contains a “condition” for using part of the Future Fund to create a new “national development corporation” which would invest in infrastructure and specific industries.

Meanwhile, independent Rob Oakeshott has proposed a tax reform summit after meeting with Fortescue chief Andrew Forrest. In a statement, Forrest said he and Oakeshott had agreed to a summit that would help abandon the current resources rent tax.

“I’m now thoroughly endorsing and indeed applauding Mr Oakeshott’s view that we should have an open taxation summit as soon as possible where all matters of taxation efficiency and improvement across the Australian economy can be put on the table,” Forrest says.

“This will leave behind the lack of process and governance of the Mineral Resources Rent Tax (MRRT) and everything which led up to it.”

Negotiations are set to continue over the weekend, with the three remaining independents – Oakeshott, Katter and Windsor – saying they need at least a few more days to decide who will get their vote.