MP supports Torres Strait independence

AAP

August 05, 2009 02:55pm

THE Torres Strait Islands should be allowed to secede from Australia, a maverick federal MP says.

Independent MP Bob Katter told protesters in Cairns that Australian and Queensland laws were "slowly killing" the Torres Strait Islander race.

He said environmental laws and government agencies were preventing residents in the collection of islands between mainland Australia and Papua New Guinea from sourcing their own food locally.

Instead, he said the region was forced to rely on overpriced food shipped up from southern centres.

"Nothing is grown or caught up there. Between the Great Barrier Reef marine park authority, the fish management authority and AQIS they have been deprived of the right to stay alive," Mr Katter said.

"This is a super-poor third world country up there, all they can afford is rice."

Torres Strait residents staged their protest outside the Pacific International Forum in Cairns, demanding the right for the collection of islands to be granted sovereignty.


People's movement for autonomy for the Torres Strait spokesman Father Getano Lui Jnr said residents deserved the right to manage their own affairs.

"It's an emerging nation we are talking about, we no longer want to be recognised just as an indigenous race of this country," he said.

"We have overwhelming support from the communities because what we see at the moment is a regime which actually undermines the self management we have had in the past."

Mr Katter likened the situation in the Torres Strait to that of East Timor and said the Australian government would be "screaming hypocrites" if they did not allow residents to determine their own future.

Face it, it aint ever gonna happen.
Dream on, move on.

what is independence going to do? look at png, a few familes are benefitting while the rest are under the povertyline. yumi kamap afrika pinis.

Torres Strait Islanders would be very stupid to think about independence.

Look at what is happening to the poor poverty stricken fukers in PNG and their PM billionaire Somare family.