Bob Katter.
Wisdom. Mongrel. Patriot.
Build the nation.
To be owned by Australians.
FEATURED NEWS

By Rachelle Ambrum
•
July 9, 2025
“Trump’s protecting his industries from the uncontestable, government-backed mega-production coming out of China. Their factories aren’t built by the private sector - they’re built by the government, with government money, and they don’t need to service debt,” Mr Katter said. “The Chinese government doesn’t throw money away on ego monuments and feel-good ‘net-zero’ whims. It builds factories that produce things, freeways and tunnels that create wealth and economic generation. That money, in turn, produces value. It’s deflationary, not inflationary. “The Australin Government, on the other hand, have obliterated our production sector in favour of ideology and self-indulgence.” Mr Katter said there were no domestic industries left that could compete on a global stage - except beef, grain, and mining (not processing) – and warned that places like Mount Isa, home to a major copper smelter, were in the firing line if trade conditions deteriorated further. “You can’t expect a 25,000 mega-tonne refinery in Australia to compete with a 250,000 mega-tonne refinery in China. And yet our response has been to party on, strangling our industries and primary producers with over-regulation and skip down a net-zero path without caring about whether the money comes from. This had led us to become a net importer of nearly all our food, manufactured goods and fuel.” “We are one of the most resource rich countries in the world, yet we are fast becoming an economic backet case. It’s economic insanity.” He continued: “A billion people go to bed hungry every night—and we in Northern Australia could feed half a billion of them, if the government got out of the way and stopped treating our industries like a nuisance.” Mr Katter also took aim at the Federal Government’s trade policy, warning that Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ recent economic optimism was “delusional at best.” Katter reserved some of his strongest criticism for Foreign Minister Penny Wong, saying Australia’s relationship with the U.S. was already frayed—and that her approach to China was “worse than naïve.” “She’s got us surrounded. Chinese warships circle us like crows around a carcass, and we call that diplomacy.” Mr Katter said his party, along with other regional crossbenchers, would soon be pitching an ‘Omnibus Bill’ to reshape Australia’s economy and re-establish essential industries. “This delusion must stop. Australia must follow America’s lead and start protecting our own industries, primary producers and manufacturers.” ENDS

By Rachelle Ambrum
•
July 3, 2025
Federal Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter, today visited Mount Isa, a city built on mining and industrial manufacturing, as its people face the grim reality of a slow-motion industrial collapse 20 years in the making off the back of Glencore's threat of imminent closure should they fail to get a "government bailout". Mr Katter spoke directly with residents, many of whom have spent generations working in the mines, smelters, and refineries that once defined Australia's critical mineral capacity. "For decades, governments in this country have taken our mineral processing for granted, and at the same time Glencore has made short-term self-serving decisions on investment and energy that created risks for the entire country," Mr Katter said. "The Mount Isa-Townsville industrial complex is not just important; it is the most important manufacturing production line in this nation. It is the only place in Australia where copper ore from across Queensland and beyond can be turned into usable copper – the copper that builds your homes, powers your electrical infrastructure, underpins weapons manufacturing, and drives the computers and technology that hold our country together. "Yet governments have sat idly by while Glencore has been allowed to gain complete control over Australia's most valuable industrial asset, and they've made some disastrous decisions that are biting them and risking Australia's minerals production. And now, with copper prices strong, demand rising, and the world screaming for critical minerals, our processing capacity is being shuttered. "For 20 years, governments and Ministers have come to Mount Isa for their photo opportunities, promised cheaper power, more competitive markets, and finally, CopperString. But every announcement has been just that – words and no action, and they've left every major decision up to a ruthless multinational trading company that is now threatening to walk," Mr Katter said.

By Rachelle Ambrum
•
July 2, 2025
"A devil is often in the detail – and we haven't seen that yet with this proposed review into the East Coast Gas Reservation scheme. While this announcement appears to be very positive, it may change, and my position may change on it," Mr Katter said. Mr Katter warned the energy crisis facing Mount Isa was "absolutely critical", and said the town is not connected to the national electricity grid and relies entirely on gas for electricity, chemical production and industry operations. "The copper smelter, the copper operations, the dozen copper mines, the silver-lead-zinc plant, make Mount Isa the third biggest industrial centre in this country, just behind Newcastle and Gladstone," he said. "The complete collapse of Mount Isa's industrial base was imminent last week. The dominoes were already falling. Mount Isa pulls 3,000 jobs directly out of Townsville and fuels billions in industrial exports. If it goes under, it's not just a local issue – it's a national one." Mr Katter said he sent a blunt letter to both the Prime Minister and the Queensland Premier, warning that, without action on a gas reservation policy, they would be remembered as presiding over the industrial destruction of the region. "We are paying up to $16.60 for a unit of gas in Mount Isa, while the Americans and Russians are paying $5 US. It's impossible to survive or compete under those conditions. Give us RRP and we go forward. Deny us, and there will be a collapse." Mr Katter said he had received no response from the Queensland Premier, despite personal representations by state MP Robbie Katter, but acknowledged that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has taken direct action by including new gas from the Northern Territory, including the Beetaloo Basin, in the policy.

By Rachelle Ambrum
•
June 24, 2025
As recently as late last week, Mr Katter held discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister, making representations for the new amphibious army fleet to be ported at Cairns and for final funding to be provided for the ship lift so that maintenance can be undertaken on Australia's naval vessels. "Unless we are going to be battling the penguins of Antarctica, maybe we should cast our eyes north to where the threat is more likely," Mr Katter said. "To go to war now is not only inconceivable but a catastrophic failure of defence planning that echoes the same fatal mistakes made in World War II. "In the Second World War, our three armies were sitting in the Libyan Desert while the Japanese prepared to invade. Whether it was dereliction of duty or outright stupidity, it was the most damning judgement on a government in this country's history," Mr Katter said. "They knew we were about to be invaded, and they sent two forward scout groups to meet the threat — 3,000 young men and the 49th Battalion. Half of them had never fired a rifle in their life. Our Air Force was so under-equipped it was a joke; the Wirraway had machine guns on the wings and no chance of taking on Japanese Zeros." Mr Katter compared the current state of Australia's Defence Force to those dark days, saying the government's claims of readiness are farcical in the face of the growing international military capability.
CONTACT DETAILS
INNISFAIL
P: 07 4061 6066
Visit: Cnr Owen & Edith Sts, Innisfail
Post: PO Box 1638 Innisfail Q 4860
MOUNT ISA
P: 07 4743 3534
Visit: 42 Simpson St, Mount Isa City
Post: PO Box 2130 Mount Isa Q 4825
MAREEBA
P: 07 4092 1632
Visit: 141 Byrnes St, Mareeba
Post: PO Box 2206, Mareeba Q 4825
CANBERRA
(when Parliament is sitting)
P: 02 6277 4978
Post: PO Box 6022, Canberra ACT 2600
Local Call within the electorate
P: 1300 301 942
Email: Bob.Katter.MP@aph.gov.au