ONE Nation WA Senator Rod Culleton will be in Canberra for orientation next Monday after his trial for alleged vehicle theft – that was due to be held in the Magistrates Court in Perth on the same day - was delayed.
Mr Culleton will head to the nation’s capital via Townsville in Queensland for a public meeting tomorrow with fellow One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts and Katter’s Australian Party leader Bob Katter and State KAP members to address farmers and others, “harassed by bank demands and foreclosures”.
The 52-year old ex-farmer from Williams is facing trial relating to charges over the alleged theft of a $27,000 hire car used by bank receivers on Black Friday in March last year, seeking to foreclose on the Cuballing sheep and grain property of Bruce Dixon.
The two receivers appointed by the ANZ Bank, from RSM Bird Cameron, had their vehicle blocked in by bales of straw and were ordered off the farm during the incident which appeared on 60 Minutes in April last year, highlighting bank lending issues.
Mr Culleton was elected 11th for the WA Senate at the July 2 election on plans to push banks over rural lending issues and last month sought unsuccessfully to have his trial delayed, saying he needed more time to prepare his case.
He appeared in the Court today where magistrate Felicity Zempilas vacated next week's trial dates and adjourned the matter for a trial allocation on September 13.
Mr Culleton told Fairfax Agricultural Media the matter wasn’t yet listed for trial - but he would be in parliament next week “no doubt” and getting on with the job he was elected do, including pushing a Royal Commission into banking.
“Parliament starts on the 30th (of August) but on the 22nd I’ve got orientation which I will be at,” he said.
Mr Culleton said there were “a lot of innuendos floating around” but he was now representing himself on the theft allegations, which he refers to as the “straw bale” incident.
“I’ve sacked my solicitors because the police came back to me and said they want to strike a deal and cut 22 witnesses down to four and I’ve declined and I’ve said I will fight it vigorously,” he said.
“So I’m telling you, forget what’s being printed in the newspaper – the papers have not been getting the story right.
“I will be bright eyed and bushy tailed in Canberra as a Senator next week starting on the 22nd for my orientation.
“I’m handling the Magistrates Court - they’ve come back with an offer (Western Australia Police) and I’ve declined it.
“I’m Rodney Culleton - just watch this space.
“It’s like the Coyote and the Road Runner – the Coyote never catches the Road Runner mate.”
Mr Culleton’s appearance in court today meant he missed a flight to Queensland but he said he would still be at tomorrow’s public meeting with Mr Katter while his son Robbie and another State member of the KAP Shane Knuth are expected to attend.
Mr Culleton said the Townsville meeting would show he was prepared to form a good relationship with crossbenchers in the Lower House, with Mr Katter a “key player” and also a “keen supporter” of the Royal Commission into banking.
He said the event would be used to announce terms of references for the Commission that are about 90 per cent completed.
Mr Culleton said the KAP had done a “massive job” in Queensland running a Rural Debt and Drought Taskforce that produced a report backing a Royal Commission into bank lending practices.
That report also supported establishing a dedicated rural bank to help relieve debt pressures on farmers facing natural disasters, like drought.
Mr Culleton said the forum at the Townsville Show Grounds tomorrow would not only hear from farmers but also people with residential mortgages and businesses facing similar bank pressures.
“The banks are out of control with their fees – they need to be accountable and they will be accountable,” he said.
“We’ve got the banks on the ropes at the moment.
“I just look at it as the Australian version of the coyote and the Road Runner but we don’t say ‘beep beep’ we just say ‘bugger off’.”
Mr Culleton said One Nation supported the introduction of a rural bank to assist farmers with easing financing pressures and also wanted to introduce non-recourse loans.
“If there are times of hardship growers don’t need more money they just need more support,” he said.
“Just giving them further hand-outs is only imploding their debt – they do not need that.
“They’re very resilient and they can get through (because) they are good business people and do agriculture on passion and the banks need to support them.
“We’re there to correct things and we’re in support of a sovereign rural bank where the beneficiaries are the people who bank with it.
“We don’t need these commercial style banks boasting about their $6 billion profits and $12 million salaries – their fortunes are coming out of other peoples’ misfortunes.
“There will be no more farms falling victim to the receivers - we saved six farms last week.”
Mr Culleton said One Nation weren’t not “bank activists” and did not want to destroy banks.
“That’s not what we’re about,” he said.
“We want our banks to love their customers, to respect their customers and give their customers a fair go.
“It’s important the public realise if we lose our agriculture and our rural people we will be in strife and we will lose the quality of our food.”