Katter says "Thank you" to the fighters
May 5, 2025
Elections aren't won by blokes in suits. They're won on the backs of the people who stand out in the sun and the rain, handing out how-to-vote cards for days on end. So, this victory belongs to them. God bless every one of you. I can't thank you enough.
The same goes for my wife Susie, my five children, and even my grandchildren, who have worked tirelessly throughout this campaign to make so much of it happen. I certainly couldn't have done this without them. To my staff, who give their all (and then some) daily for the people of Kennedy... Thank you.
Thank you to my staff Alice, Carly, Dom, Rachelle, Kahla, Ella, Elise, Alana, Kylie, Emma and Sarah.
I didn't get re-elected because I'm some sort of outstanding character. I'm just a boy from Cloncurry. More members of parliament might get similar results if they actually served their electorates and listened to the people every once in a while, and not some party room in Brisbane or Canberra.
You just do the job, and the cards fall where they might. I've had to make decisions that would be politically costly for me. Julia Gillard closed the cattle market into Indonesia, and I knew unless she was removed, that market would stay closed. Those people were my friends; that was my industry. Yes, I'm a mining man, but I've always had cattle. And I represent maybe the largest cattle electorate in Australia, so I couldn't just sit around and do nothing about it. I made an unpopular but necessary call, and by 10.30pm that same day, Rudd was prime minister. Within two weeks, the market was reopened, and within two months, the price of cattle doubled.
I now sit in my living room looking up at a picture of Edward "Red Ted" Theodore, a man who believed that saving our country from the Great Depression was more important than his political career and did what he believed to be the right thing, despite the enormous personal cost. To me, that is the only way to approach being a member of parliament.
Now, the Bridle Track Tunnel must be built. In February, we had 400,000 North Queenslanders trapped by flooding in the south and the west. If that rain depression had continued, there would have been 100 lives lost instead of only six. When we get that tunnel, it removes that danger immediately and forever. And it's only a tiny one kilometre of tunnel. Beyond its use as an escape from floods, it will open up the most diverse mineral province on earth. We can't get the ore out now because there's no port nearby. The finalisation of that road and tunnel opens up a wealth of opportunities for the Far North and North-West.
As an Australian, I have to live with the shame of how we have treated the First Australians of this country. I lie in bed at night knowing the ALP removed the market gardens and the right of First Australians to own land in their homelands. Jason Ned, who mustered more cattle than probably anyone in human history, up until the day he passed away, could not get a pastoral lease. Well, why won't you let them have pastoral leases and freehold titles? The original inhabitants of this country and they're not allowed to own a block of land, and they continue to die much younger than they should, from diabetes and related diseases because they can't own land to grow their own food! If it was a proper and fair world, Jason Ned would have died with a pastoral lease, the same as every other cattleman in Australia.
I think Queenslanders, and especially the young people, are finally realising they are living in the most restrictive society on earth. You can't even boil a billy on your own property without applying for a fire permit, which takes two months to get approved! You can't even protect yourself in your own home, even with your fists; they'll prosecute you instead of the one who came into your home and deserves to have his backside kicked from here to the Northern Territory. And that's what we (the KAP) plan to do with them. Free country? You live in the most unfree country on earth.
Well, the people of Kennedy know the major parties aren't fighting for them. If you ignore the North, if you ignore the bush, you do it at your own peril. The people are rising up in righteous anger, and I don't blame them one bit.
The Port of Karumba serves as the primary maritime gateway for the Gulf of Carpentaria, providing key access between our southern states and the essential Asian markets and beyond. The port is a stones throw from the North West Minerals Province, vast untapped volumes of fresh water, rich soils and our northern regional agricultural sectors. The future of the port must include serious upgrades to the road network that connect it these vital resources and the rest of Australia. This submission advocates for not only broad consideration of port access and users, but also for key Inland road networks to be placed on the National Land Transport Network (NLTN) to unlock long-term, ongoing Federal funding.
One of my two closest friends in Parliament, Vince Patrick Lester OAM (1939-2026) was the classical underdog in every sense of the word. Brought up by his struggling mother, the bell boy and a baker’s apprentice with no secondary education was the kid born with nothing. Vince was an extraordinary MP consistently delivering for his electorate – whether it be the Great Inland Highway or a local community centre. Every Australian should be inspired by Vince Lester – Always polite, never arrogant. Always fighting for the little people. May God’s blessings be upon Vince – a good bloke. Bob and Vince Lester pictured with the 8th Bjelke-Petersen Cabinet.
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The “Isa” is Australia’s economic future. Surrounded by one of the world’s richest minerals province, rich pastoral lands and within a region of north Australia that has access to nearly half of Australia’s surface water - the ‘Isa’ is destined for big things. However, infrastructure is needed to unlock this vast wealth and opportunity. Bob’s submission to Mount Isa Transformation Study highlights these opportunities and outlines some of the key infrastructure requirements.
Today we honour the Australians who served during the Vietnam War. We remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, those who returned home carrying the scars of their service, and the families who stood beside them. For many Vietnam veterans, the recognition and respect they deserved was far too long coming. Today, we say thank you for your service, your courage and your sacrifice. Lest We Forget.
Throughout Australia our Post Offices aren’t just a luxury… for many, they are essential. Often they are the heart, soul and lifeblood of our country towns. A Senate Committee is currently looking at the future of our post offices - we’ve put in a submission highlighting the integral role of our post offices, fighting to ensure they remain open across Australia and continue to provide this vital service. To all the posties out there… thank you for keeping us connected.
Is government seriously that tone deaf that it would permit the sale of 22,000 hectares of prime agricultural land to foreign investors????? UNFORTUNATELY .. the answer is YES . Our government has allowed the sale of a huge “Rushy Lagoon” property in Tasmania. THIS PROPERTY is roughly one-and-a-half times the size of Washington, D.C. (17,700 ha), and would fit roughly 30,800 international soccer pitches. THIS PROPERTY at capacity runs 85,000 DSE dairy and beef cattle. THIS PROPERTY employs hundreds of locals and supports the entire economy of the towns throughout the region. THIS PROPERTY is key to the sustainability and self-sufficiency of Australia’s domestic beef and milk markets. The INTERNATIONAL PURCHASERS want to turn it all into a “pine farm” - sacking staff and destroying the local economy, but also depriving Australia of the agricultural and wealth generation that comes with such a large agricultural enterprise. Ignoring the pleas from locals, government has rubber stamped the sale. AUSTRALIA WE MUST WAKE UP!!!! WE MUST FIGHT AGAINST FOREIGN LANDLORDS!!!! IT MIGHT NOT BE HAPPENING IN YOUR BACKYARD NOW…. BUT IT WILL BE SOON!!! AUSTRALIA IS NOT… AND SHOULD NEVER BE… FOR SALE!!!!
8 July 2026: North Queensland Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has demanded the Federal Agriculture Minister make public the “deeply concerning” findings of Government investigations into imported peanuts for Australian farmers “who every right to know whether their industry has been exposed to a biosecurity threat”. After meeting with the Federal Minister in Canberra last week, Mr Katter has formally requested in writing the Department of Agriculture’s full transparency on the results of investigations, alongside an immediate halt to peanut imports where Australia's biosecurity cannot be guaranteed. "Australia has strict biosecurity rules for a reason. They exist to stop dangerous pests and diseases getting into this country before they destroy Australian agriculture," said Mr Katter. "However, having been advised by the Minister last week of intensive investigations into imported peanuts – including the germination testing of particular significance – my office has now received evidence confirming germination of the samples collected for laboratory testing… which raises very serious questions because if peanuts can germinate, they are raw.” Mr Katter said the results indicating germination in all peanut varieties tested had raised fears imported peanuts are not undergoing necessary processing to eliminate raw biosecurity threats. "The Australian peanut industry is rightly worried about diseases that simply do not exist here – such as the devastating peanut smut in overseas crops which, once established, slashes yields by up to 75 per cent. Once these diseases are in Australian soil, there’s no magic wand to get rid of them." Mr Katter said reports the imported raw peanuts were being offered for sale nationwide reflected the extent of the potential national biosecurity risk “that we've seen again and again and again... We warned governments not to allow imported prawns because white spot disease would get in. We were ignored, and white spot came in. We warned about citrus canker. We warned about black sigatoka. We warned about papaya fruit fly. We warned about Panama disease. “If you believe governments have the best interest of Australian farmers at heart, then you believe in the tooth fairy – while they continue to gamble with Australia's biosecurity and food security to look after their precious ‘free’ trade agreements.” Mr Katter said where there was genuine uncertainty about whether imported peanuts complied with Australia's biosecurity requirements, “they should not be coming into this country until that uncertainty is resolved. You don't wait until the disease arrives, before you lock the gate." ENDS
KAP Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has welcomed the completion of the sale of Phosphate Hill, celebrating it as a major win for North West Queensland workers, industry and the future of Australian fertiliser production. Mr Katter said the announcement represented the culmination of years of relentless campaigning to keep one of Australia's most strategically important industrial assets operating. "This is wonderful news for North West Queensland," Mr Katter said. "For years we've been bashing the doors down, that if Australia wanted to keep industry alive, governments had to step in and secure a future for assets like Phosphate Hill." Mr Katter said the federal government’s Reserve Resource Policy had been instrumental in helping create the conditions for the sale. "Getting a Reserve Resource Policy in place has been one of the major achievements of my political life. We fought tooth and nail because Australia should never be paying world-leading prices for our own gas. "Our competitors in countries like the United States and Russia have access to affordable energy, while Australian manufacturers have been paying more than $16 a unit for gas.” Mr Katter said affordable gas was fundamental to the survival of the North West's industrial base. "Everything at Phosphate Hill depends on gas. It powers the plant and drives the chemical processes that turn our natural resources into the fertiliser. "Only a year or so ago we were staring down the barrel of losing one of Australia's biggest industrial centres, with the closure of copper and phosphate production threatening thousands of livelihoods across the North West. "This is an enormous relief for the workers, contractors, families and communities who never gave up. "I particularly want to thank the people of North West Queensland who stood together and fought for this outcome. They refused to accept that these jobs should disappear, and today their determination has been rewarded." Mr Katter said the focus must now be on ensuring Phosphate Hill has the affordable energy certainty needed to remain strong operation for decades to come. -ENDS-
Parliament is back and so is the fight for Australia's future. This week, Bob and Elise sit down in Canberra to tackle one of the country's most contentious issues: immigration. Was the Bondi tragedy a warning sign? Bob argues it exposed much deeper problems, and that Australia's political class has abandoned its duty to protect the nation. Plus, inside Bob's $300 billion plan to transform Australia from a country that spends money into one that makes it. Listen now!
