“The land is going, jobs will disappear and agriculture will be beaten into the ground. We are going to end up with a country that doesn’t make anything and doesn’t own anything, which will prevent more workers and we won’t be able to pay the welfare,” he said.

“Our national debt is skyrocketing and we won’t be able to afford to pay that. The rest of the world will realise Australia is a basket case and this will drop the dollar like a stone, and it won’t be worth anything. We will end up being a third-world country.

“It won’t happen in my generation, but it will be in my children’s.”

Mr Harris has always been a cattle farmer and has long been unhappy with the way farmers have been represented. He feels the national dairy crisis is another example of the government not listening.

“The government is doing a lot to help dairy farmers, but we all know how much help they are giving them,” he said.

“Barnaby Joyce came up with a package that will put them into more debt by giving them more loans; they’re already up to their ears in debt and they need a way out so they can have some sort of collective bargaining power. Why do we have a coalition when they are in opposition? The Nationals are too afraid to step away from the Liberals.”

He said after the recent suicide of some farmers it was clear there was a need, not just for legislative support, but also for more counsellors in the country.

“I’m concerned, not just for farming, but for manufacturing,” he said, referring to the closure of the Electrolux and the production of the last Holden car next year.

“It’s our sovereignty. When the Country Party was around they stood up for what they believed and battled for rural Australians and industry. It was the result of the Country Party in the Menzies years that ensured prosperity of Australians. We have always had a history of foreign ownership and foreign holders, but over the last 10 years it’s just got out of hand.”

He said, as the election approached he knew he would be a long shot, but he was hoping this year other disgruntled farmers would vote Katter.

“It is obviously going to be extremely difficult for us being a small party but if we can get out there enough and say what we stand for I think we should walk it in,” he said.