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.
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!
This week on Wisdom Mongrel Patriot, Bob hits the road and takes listeners deep into the heart of the Kennedy electorate to showcase the people, places and businesses that make Northern Australia tick. Our first stop is the tropical paradise of Mission Beach, where Bob sits down with one of the region's young entrepreneurs, Liam Johnson, owner of Scotties Bar and Grill. Liam shares the reality of starting a small business in today's Australia. Despite the challenges, he's chosen to back himself and invest in his community. Why would a young bloke take the risk? What keeps him going? And what does the future hold for regional small business? Along the way, Bob and Elise explore the wider Mission Beach region; one of Australia's true hidden gems. From pristine beaches and tropical rainforest to tourism, agriculture and local enterprise, they discuss why this corner of North Queensland continues to attract people looking for opportunity and a better way of life. And because no road trip with Bob would be complete without it, listeners are treated to another classic Bob serenade that proves once again that politics and music are never far apart in Kennedy. This week is a story about backing yourself, building something from scratch and having a crack when plenty of others wouldn't. Pull up a stool, grab a cold one and join Bob as he takes Wisdom Mongrel Patriot on the road. 🎙️🍻🌴
This week, Bob sits down with AgForce Queensland President Shane McCarthy, better known to mates and colleagues simply as "Sheep". In a frank discussion about the future of Australian agriculture, Sheep outlines the biggest challenges facing farmers today. He discusses the need for cutting through layers of red and green tape to ensure that producers can get on with the job of feeding the nation. The pair discuss the growing burden of regulation, the need for practical policy solutions, and why governments must start trusting farmers instead of tying them up in bureaucracy. They also tackle the escalating pest crisis affecting rural Australia, including the impact of pigs, wild dogs, wild cats and other feral animals and invasive species that continue to devastate livestock, crops and native ecosystems across the country. Along the way, Bob and Sheep share a few laughs, including a brief detour into the mystery of Bob's famously crooked nose, before reflecting on the homeland and values that shaped them both. It's a conversation about agriculture, common sense and the people who keep Australia fed. Listen now for a paddock-to-parliament discussion on farming, freedom and the future of regional Australia.
For decades I've been saying that water is the key to Australia's future. We don't have to wonder what happens when you build the infrastructure to harness it—we've just heard it firsthand from the people who've lived it. A big thank you to Rod Wetsel, Jake Lederle and Quentin Wetsel for travelling all the way from Texas to Hughenden to share their experience. Their lessons from Sweetwater and beyond have shown exactly what happens when governments back irrigation and transmission infrastructure: industries grow, jobs are created, and towns that were once shrinking begin to thrive. We're saving years of trial and error by listening to people who have already walked this path. Congratulations to Mayor Kate Peddle, Flinders Shire Council, RAPAD, the Local Government Association of Queensland and everyone who helped bring this delegation together. These are the conversations that can shape the future of inland Australia. The answer has never been to abandon the bush. The answer is to build it. That's how you nation-build.
28 May 2026: On World Blood Cancer Day today, Kennedy MP Bob Katter has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of strengthened funding for a major recruitment campaign to register hundreds of thousands more stem cell donors to be potentially called upon help save the lives of fellow Australians. In response to a question from Mr Katter in Parliament yesterday, the Health Minister confirmed Australia continued to hold one of the smallest stem cell donor registries of all developed countries – three years after vowing to expedite a significant increase in lagging donor registrations following representations by Mr Katter. The Minister also confirmed the Government’s call for tenders this week to establish a specialist stem cell donor registry and clinical service, to facilitate greater donor-recipient matches as the last hope for survivors. Mr Katter said the Life Saving List community campaigners had increased bone marrow donor registrants from 168,000 to 190,000 in the three years since the Health Minister noted Australia had not moved fast enough to help more blood cancer patients find donors. “In these three years, Australia has lost 18,000 lives – 20 people a day – including my nephew Liam,” he told Parliament before today joining community-based campaigners with the Parliamentary Group on Bone Marrow Donation to mark World Cancer Day in the Speaker’s Courtyard, where special guests from the Canberra Raiders demonstrated the quick and simple test to go on the register with just a cheek swab, or when donating blood. Along with Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and Stem Cell Donors Australia, Life Saving List campaigner Josephine O’Brien said she was grateful for the progress in the two years since the premature death of husband Liam, who remained steadfast in his commitment to growing the stem cell donor registry whilst fighting for his own life. Acknowledging the work of Lifeblood for the treatments Liam required daily thanks to the kindness of strangers donating, Mrs O’Brien said: “No family should have to carry the weight of finding a donor alone. When someone you love needs a stem cell match, you are already facing the hardest moment of your life.” She also paid tribute to the Canberra Raiders for their ongoing support with the “relentless efforts” of campaigners and Parliamentary Group on Bone Marrow Donation – including Mr Katter, Macarthur MP Dr Mike Freelander, Kooyong MP Dr Monique Ryan, Forde MP Mr Ted O’Brien, Lyons MP Hon. Rebecca White and their staff – who fought for the inclusion in 2023 of cheek-swab registrations as “a giant leap forward for Australia that would not have been achieved for many years without the force of Liam O’Brien behind it”. Mr Katter said the additional expansion of 17-year-olds to the list of eligible donors would increase the pool of potential registrants from which to recruit potential stem cell donors by several hundred thousand young Australians; and welcomed the Minister’s further advice that the successful tenderer to provide clinical services to match donors with patients, would be asked to consider whether the age limit be raised from 35-40 years.
Josephine O'Brien joins Wisdom Mongrel Patriot on World Blood Cancer Day to share the deeply personal story behind the campaign that is transforming Australia's stem cell donor registry. After losing her husband Liam to blood cancer, Josephine has turned unimaginable grief into action, leading the fight to grow Australia's donor register and give other families the chance they never had. Bob Katter, his Chief of Staff Kahla Kruger, and Josephine discuss Australia's chronic shortage of stem cell donors, the progress made through the Life Saving List campaign, the importance of simple cheek-swab registrations, and why thousands more young Australians are needed on the register. This is a story of courage, persistence and hope, and a reminder that a single donor can mean the difference between life and death. Every Australian aged 17-35 can help. One cheek swab could save a life.
Australia was once a country where an ordinary Australian could buy a home, raise a family and have the mortgage knocked over by 30. Today, young Australians are being sold a very different dream, a lifetime on the hamster wheel, saddled with million-dollar mortgages they may never escape.
In this episode of Wisdom Mongrel Patriot, Bob Katter and Elise deliver a blunt dissection of the 2026 Federal Budget - and ask the question many in the bush are already asking: where exactly does Regional Australia fit into the nation’s future? Where does self-sufficiency fit? Where does the Australia we used to know and love fit?
