For reasons known only to the universal deity in love with Queensland at the moment (understandably, it is is the greatest nation on earth) Bob Katter gets his second question for the week. Two days of Katter in a row. Aren’t we lucky.

Katter:

Prime Minister, grand final is over, Queensland won – sorry about that! Season is over, 1,000 North Queensland rugby league players are bored you know, an idle mind is a devil’s workshop. In some of the last jungles left on earth, 3 million pigs are destroying our fauna and flora. Please give the boys back their rifles and licence, I emphasise licensed, access to national parks. Prime Minister, now doomed cassowary and the North Queensland turtle. Give the boys back their air-rifle, you may eliminate some of the 2,000 million toads in North Queensland. Prime Minister, too late for the Rabbitohs, sorry, sorry. And don’t worry about the pests in this place, please would you worry about the pests in North Queensland?

Alex Hawke, who has the misfortune of not being a Queenslander has a point of order. It is not a point of order. The question about pests, is in order.

Anthony Albanese:

I’m concerned about pests, Mr Speaker. I assure the House of that. And I know that this is a really serious issue around our national parks and around regional – not just regional Queensland, but right around the country. I visited some time ago the Northern Territory with the Cattleman’s Association looking at the issue of feral pig there is is just devastating the country, and having a real impact on our wildlife and, therefore, it is something that we do take seriously. I will ask the member for the Minister for Agriculture to supplement, but I will say to the member for Kennedy that as a South Sydney supporter, we have been 43 years in a drought and we always have hope. We always have hope and we have something that those on this side of the House have in abundance, it’s called loyalty. (LAUGHTER)

Julie Collins gets the question and she is thrilled to have it:

I thank the Prime Minister for passing that question through from the – for Kennedy. Can I say… (INTERJECTIONS) ..to the member for Kennedy, I do appreciate and we had many discussions in-person about his love of the land in Queensland and his genuine commitment to improving land management in Queensland and his concern for invasive species because there’s no doubt they are having a serious impact in Queensland and elsewhere around the country. Which is why of course since coming into Government we have strengthened our biosecurity system because we want to stop more pests and disease from getting into the country and we invested $2 billion in doing that.

Etc, etc, etc