Bob Katter, the independent MP for Kennedy, which takes in Mt Isa, has welcomed the taxpayer funded bail out of the Glencore smelter. He’s singled out the minister for industry, Tim Ayres for a special thank you, but he also wants more than $600m.

We must put on record our appreciation of the involvement by the Minister. [Queensland KAP leader] Robbie Katter said the [Queensland] Premier too has been helpful, but this game is not over. It is just starting. This proposal is a Band-Aid on a compound fracture. It might staunch the bleeding but it ain’t going to fix your leg.

We must thank all the people who came to our meetings and put shoulder to the wheel here. Thank you to all fighters for their role in achieving this stay of execution, particularly the Mayor of Mount Isa, Peta McRae, Townsville Enterprise Limited, CEO, Claudia Brunne Smith, Paul Farrow from the AWU, Maria James, CEO of MITEZ and all those other fighters who have not slept a wink over the past few months in their effort to save our town and Townsville’s industrial base.

To Glencore I say congratulations for out-negotiating not one government, but two. I take my hat off to them, these two governments have made a $600m bet that Queensland’s minerals economy is going to be much stronger by the time the next election comes around. How convenient.

Another phrase comes to mind. Danegeld. For those that aren’t familiar with this, it was a tax levied by the Anglo-Saxons to pay off Viking invaders of England.

We will eager learn more about this ‘transition authority’ they have proposed.

We are pleased to be fighting another day but are fired up by this decision and it has made us more aggressively and relentless on pursuing a reserve resource policy for gas.

A $600 million Band-Aid is helpful, but we need an outcome that solves the source of the problem.”