North Queensland's powerful trio will shake up the state

Abstract

[Extract] Three north Queensland MPs representing just 3% of the state's population will wield huge power in Queensland's parliament, which resumes on Tuesday for the first full sitting week since the January 31 state election. In the weeks since quitting the Labor Party – after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk advised him to resign – new independent Billy Gordon has said he has been "forming an alliance" with the two Katter's Australian Party (KAP) MPs, Rob Katter and Shane Knuth. Gordon's resignation left the Labor government with just 43 MPs in the 89-seat parliament, up against the Liberal Nationals' 42 – though Palaszczuk can also count on the support of independent Speaker Peter Wellington. That gives Gordon, Katter and Knuth – who represent the neighbouring north Queensland seats of Cook, Mt Isa and Dalrymple – an unprecedented opportunity to trade their votes for a better deal for their regions, on everything from jobs to major infrastructure.