Bob Katter

Listen to my interview in full with Sky News’ Jaynie Seal about the tyranny of distance and the housing regulatory impositions.

KAP Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter says the global CrowdStrike outage demonstrates the urgent necessity of keeping a cash economy alive and the dangers of relying on digital tech.

Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter is calling on the Queensland Government to match the $8 million Federal Government commitment towards Queensland Pacific Metals (QPM) critical minerals processing and manufacturing plant in the Kennedy Electorate. “What a tremendous announcement for North Queensland, the Federal Government have finally agreed to an $8 million investment to get the QPM processing and manufacturing plant started,” said Mr Katter. “The Queensland Government must now show their cards and make a similar financial commitment, if they want royalties from mining, then they must support projects like this.” This grant will support domestic nickel and cobalt production, help to create jobs for Australian workers and add value to our critical minerals industry. “I want to thank the true heroes of this project the QPM executive team led by Dr Stephen Grocott, for their advocacy and commitment toward this ground-breaking project. “Thanks must also go to the French Ambassador for his advocacy and work in this area. “The Queensland Government must shift their focus from the South East Corner and start investing in money making projects like this,” said Mr Katter. ENDs

Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has questioned the Government’s blinkered upgrades of black-spot roads, and disappointing lack of commitment in parliament to a safer tunnel route that unlocks the economic future of resource-rich North Queensland. Questioning the Minister for Northern Development, Madeline King, in parliament about building the proposed Bridle Track Tunnel through the Cairns hinterland, Mr Katter asked whether billions of dollars in mineral, food, timber and industrial production were not worth the $1,000 million inland highway down the range dividing the Tablelands from the port. Asking if more than $20,000 million a year of North Queensland potential and six of Australia’s eight biggest rivers west of Cairns necessitated the tunnel, Mr Katter reminded the Minister responsible for development of our nation’s north that without port access, the birth of industrial-scale mining was choked in the rich mineral province of once-thriving Chillagoe - home to the Labor movement and noted for the world’s most-diverse geology by Professor Ian Plimer. “Whilst we are disappointed in the Minister’s response during question time, we are determined to ensure the Bridle Track Tunnel is constructed to unlock the riches of the Tablelands and Gulf Country, and provide essential emergency evacuation during natural disasters,” said Mr Katter. “We are seeking further discussions with Minister King to reject Labor’s current blinkered approach to the Kuranda Range, and commit to immediate construction of the Bridle Track Tunnel.” Though the Minister acknowledged the importance of Cairns port access and infrastructure needs across the state’s northern regions as vital for the economy, Ms King described the proposed tunnel as a ‘very large undertaking’ of ‘much discussion’ on which she would speak further with the responsible Minister for Transport. The Minister also referenced the QEM Vanadium mine at Julia Creek in Mr Katter’s electorate of Kennedy as one of the world’s largest deposits of this critical mineral. However, the current condition of roads, rail, and lack of port access meant exporting this critical mineral and many others mined in the Kennedy electorate would be challenging, said Mr Katter. “Everyone knows that they have no trouble building multi-billion-dollar tunnels in Brisbane,” he said of some 30 kilometres of road tunnels in a council area with a population of 1.3 million. “North Queensland has almost a million people and no tunnel at all. “How many more people have to die on the bottleneck Kuranda Range Road that both the state and federal Labor governments are now spending hundreds of millions dollars more towards continuously required repairs and upgrades?”  In response to Mr Katter’s question in parliament, Ms King admitted the ‘difficult and problematic’ Kuranda Range Road was also ‘not the ideal solution for the North West Mineral Province’ to achieve full economic potential.

KAP’s Federal Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter, asserted his right to infuriate his fellow members of parliament when it comes to defending and supporting those Australians sent to war by their government. The Defence Amendment (Parliament Joint Committee on Defence) Bill was passed with support of the Liberal opposition on July 1, their only change request being that the committee include opposition committee members. “What right have parliamentarians got to judge those people? Their peer group can judge them but not desk jockeys and paper-pushers,” Mr Katter said. The man who brought war crime charges against his combat staff, Chief of the Defence Force General Angus Campbell, is also the person who sanctioned personnel like Ben Robert-Smtih being ordered to do six back-to-back tours of Afghanistan. “Our soldiers had no opportunity to come home to Australia and re-connect with their family and ‘normal’ life. They lived months, and sometimes years of being on high alert with the threat of injury or death around every corner.” While speaking of his support for our defence force personnel in parliament on Monday, not only were other MPs unruly without the speaker calling them to order, but the speaker also halted Mr Katter's speech to say he had “managed to upset a number of people now and (she) would like to avoid that …”. Showing his frustration Mr Katter countered with: “It is my privilege to offend people in this place, that is my right as a member of parliament”. Mr Katter then asked the speaker for a “fair go”, the same thing he was asking parliament to give to our defence force personnel who leave their families and are involved in active combat at the whim of politicians like those who were heckling his support of our defence personnel in parliament. “I received continuous interjections from the ALP when in parliament and I am talking about men sacrificing their lives to defend their country,” he said. Mr Katter then warned the interjecting MPs that he would contact their local media outlets and let them know their federal government representatives showed their vulgarity by interrupting his praise for the men and woman who are sent to war. He also questioned the lack of ‘war’ experience of those around him in federal parliament. “The number of people in here that would have had any war experience I think would be negligible, and yet you are going to stand in judgement upon those people who have volunteered to put their lives at risk to defend this country. You have no right. “We have had a gutful of the wokies, bleeding hearts and pansies wringing their hands with hypocrisy,” Mr Katter said. ENDS

KATTER’S Australian MP Bob Katter says support for a tunnel and new highway to connect resource and produce-rich inland Far North communities with the coast is rapidly growing after multiple failures on existing routes.

KATTER’S Australian Party MP Bob Katter has labelled the Federal Government’s response to escalating grocery prices as “gutless,” after it failed to adopt any substantive measures following the Grocery Code of Conduct Review.

Competition is the consumer’s friend – that’s the sentiment welcomed by the Federal Government after consumer group CHOICE handed down its first supermarket grocery comparison report this week.

KATTER’S Australian Party has reaffirmed its position to rescue the Mossman Mill, not settling for a “transitional fund,” rather, a long-term vision to ensure the farmer-owned operation remains viable.