Grazier set to contest Callide

FIGHT FOR RIGHTS: Dululu grazier Steve Ensby will run as Katter’s Australian Party candidate for the electorate of Callide.

DULULU grazier Steve Ensby will run as Katter's Australian Party candidate for the electorate of Callide and will take on State Opposition Leader Jeff Seeney.

Mr Ensby, who owns properties near the Dee River, joined Katter's Australian Party to champion irrigator rights and protect farming land from mining, as well as the party's strong opposition to a carbon tax.

Mr Ensby told Central Telegraph he wanted to fight for irrigators' rights and have them on a level playing field with the Department of Environment and Resource Management.

He said he also wanted to see quicker action on the pollution fears from the old Mt Morgan mine leaking into the Dee River.

"It's disgraceful," Mr Ensby said of the river's condition.

The registered cattle breeder also had the coal seam gas (CSG) industry in his sights.

"The CSG industry has caused a lot of heartache and worry for a lot of people.

"I am focused on ensuring that rural Queensland is given a fair go and that landholders' rights are restored and that water resources are appropriately secured and allocated."

Mr Ensby said there was only one Great Artesian Basin, which had to be protected from the CSG industry.

The farmer said he knew he faced an "uphill battle" against Mr Seeney, who calls himself the LNP Parliamentary leader to avoid confusion with LNP leader Campbell Newman.

"We're absolute underdogs, but we're going to give it all we've got," Mr Ensby said.

He may have more support than he realises with a Galaxy Poll indicating up to 23% of Queenslanders would consider voting for the Australian Party.

If replicated at an election, Mr Katter's party would rival One Nation at its zenith in 1998 and potentially hold the balance of power in the 89-seat Queensland Parliament.

In 1998 then new National Party candidate Jeff Seeney only out-polled One Nation by 31 votes and relied upon Labor preferences to win the seat, where he won 59% of the primary vote at the 2009 election.

Mr Seeney said while he would never take anything for granted, Queensland should avoid a minority government at a Federal level.

"The only thing to focus on is getting rid of the Bligh Labor Government," Mr Seeney said.

He clearly made a case against voting for Katter's new party.

"We don't want a mess like in Canberra. We can't afford to muck around with anything else," he said.

"We have to put in place a government who can govern for all of Queensland."