''It didn't matter to her if I was a nobody or a somebody, and when people say there is no God, I get angry because the thought that my mother (his voice now hovered somewhere near the ceiling) .. is nowhere, the thought that I do not get to see her face again, is completely unacceptable to me.''. Alex Ellinghausen. On it, he'd written 'I love you Susie' in blue pen, so that when they found him I'd see it. There is, it seems, a city Kat, and a country one, and if his fledgling Katters Australian Party - officially registered in September last year - is to be anything more than a sideshow to the state election, he will have to find a way to translate his narrative to the Big Smoke. '', As we pull into the office driveway, he adds: ''A man must consider what a rich realm he abdicates when he becomes a conformist. As a result, he broke with Windsor and Oakeshott and supported the Liberal/National Coalition for Government. The arrangements for supplying electricity to Mt Isa and other towns would be determined by the Queensland government and administered by the Australian Energy Regulator, according to OBrien. CopperString would probably be worth about the same as its construction price, he says, which would imply a negligible return for investors. A couple of years ago, Susie Katter recalls, Bob was in a light plane that got caught in an electrical storm flying out bush. [48] He is also an opponent of voter identification laws, denouncing the Coalition's proposed introduction of them in 2021 as a racist system that would disenfranchise Aboriginal communities. He loves guns and poetry, fighting and philosophy. James Brickwood. [21] As a result, he broke with Windsor and Oakeshott and supported the Liberal/National Coalition for Government. Personal life. Expansion, Tasmania green light for19th license after unanimous support from club presidents, AFL Commission, Tasmanian Devils name, what will they be called? Katter was a member of the National Party until 2001, when he left to sit as an independent. I decline on the grounds he is already late for his flight. However, reportedly due to anger at his decision to back Kevin Rudd (ALP) for Prime Minister following Julia Gillards (Prime Minister) live cattle export ban (Rudd, within weeks, reopened the live export market), Katter still suffered a primary-vote swing of over 17 points. He said, it's your show, son. And don't'' he says, his voice rising, ''..tell me who can and cannot donate to my party - he [Auger] took out a $33 membership, and why shouldnt he? Pe Dr Oakley husband is not on the show because he is not a trained vet. His main source of income is from his primary job as a politician. ''I AM A BLACK MAN, I AM A WHITE MAN, I AM neither because I am one of the Curry mob, and we have no blood, only each other,'' Katter says during another interview, this time at the Paddo tavern in Brisbane's inner west, where he orders a Coke and recites a poem to the woman who serves it. Carl, Richard and Bernadette are his children from his second marriage. ", "Human Rights (Sexual Conduct) Act 1994 Sect 4", "Gay activists fought a public battle for private rights", "1998 Qld House of Representatives Results", "Bob Katter launches new political party", "2001 Qld House of Representatives Results", "2004 Qld House of Representatives Results", "2007 Qld House of Representatives Results", "2010 Qld House of Representatives Results", "Rural Lawmakers Hold Key in Australian Election", "Katter's party to 'unashamedly represent agriculture', "Katter puts the fun into party briefing", "Morrison spends $200m to nail down Bob Katter's support for minority government", "Bob Katter's parallel universe: He's really a socialist", "The Mad Katter .. and the Frankston Eviction Debacle", "The joys and pains of a well hung parliament", "How does Bob Katter vote on issues that matter to you? [7] As a university student, Katter pelted the Beatles with rotten eggs during their 1964 tour of Australia, declaring in a later meeting with band that he undertook this as "an intellectual reaction against Beatlemania". As of April 2023, Bob and his wife Susan are still married. If Katter has his way, CopperString will become the $5 billion funds signature project. The thing is Dad is not naturally a fighter, but he just gets himself all worked up over things, you know? The Real Housewives of Atlanta The Bachelor Sister Wives 90 Day Fiance Wife Swap The Amazing Race Australia Married at First Sight The Real Housewives of Dallas My 600-lb Life Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The project, which has said it plans to begin construction this year, is owned by Mr Katter's brother-in-law, John O'Brien, nephew, Joseph O'Brien, and his wife, Sarah Fairfax. Katter is OBriens uncle. The family later moved to Cloncurry to run a general store. But here's the thing: if you are going to make sure you're identifiable, you'd better not be an idiot, because if you wear the white hanky youre going to cop it. Katter was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly at the 1974 state election, representing the seat of Flinders. He resigned from the National Party in the lead-up to the 2001 federal election and has since been re-elected four more times as an independent and twice for his own party. [43] That same year, Katter repeated a pledge used by the far-right organisation "Proud Boys", including that he was "a proud western chauvinist". Returning to Cloncurry, he worked in his familys businesses, and as a labourer in the Mt Isa mines. On 15 August 2017, Katter announced that the Turnbull Government could not take his support for granted in the wake of the 2017 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis, which ensued over concerns that several MPs held dual citizenship and thus may be constitutionally ineligible to be in Parliament. Turn right onto the Barkly Highway, and drive in a straight line for about eight kilometres until a monolithic smokestack appears, towering over the sprawling mini-city beneath it - Mount Isa Mines, like a giant Meccano set thrown down from the sky. As a result, he broke with Windsor and Oakeshott and supported the Liberal/National Coalition for Government. O'Brien's father, John O'Brien, is married to Katter's sister, Geraldine. ''What is your name?'' Federal MP Bob Katter has been refused entry to a NSW pub after he failed to show his Covid vaccine passport. So I keep going, left over the bridge, and into the carpark of the Red Earth Hotel, swinging in next to a ute with two cattle dogs prowling its tray. Cloncurry, or the Curry, as locals know it, is a melting pot of a grazing and mining town in north-west Queensland, a cultural mix of its indigenous Kalkadoons, Europeans, Chinese, Afghans and Anglo Saxons. Picture: Michael Chambers Katter never harboured any desire, secret or . Baddies West is the third season of Baddies, which is the franchise show ofBaddies Club that premiered on May 16, 2021. [53] His response to the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey result was the subject of international attention, as in response he declared that the issue of crocodiles killing people in North Queensland was more pressing than same-sex marriage, and therefore he declared that "I ain't spending any more time" on the latter issue. He says the project is necessary to safeguard the mining industry in the Mt Isa region. ''That's one of the good things about getting older; you stop worrying about what others think. Australia used to lead in two areas, mining and sport, and now we are outstanding leaders in childhood obesity and young men suiciding. In 2001 he resigned from the National Party and easily retained his seat as an independent at the 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010 general elections, each time with a percentage of the vote in the high sixties after preferences were distributed. While discussing the plight of the Murugappan family from Biloela and refugees policy more broadly, Katter referred to himself as a "Blakfulla". Alastair Lynchs blueprint for Tasmania team, Rembrandt: True To Life exhibition at NGV, South Coast Marine Rescue units log states busiest summer, Scrapping Charles Darwin: Hindutvas Anti-Scientific Maladies| Countercurrents, Canberras purple patch for the coronation, Shane van Gisbergens contract, Triple Eight, Garth Tander, Gen3 regulations, New Zealand, international motorsport, Chinese embassy strongly opposes Trudeaus baseless slander of Chinas human rights record during US visit, Recreational vaping banned, tobacco tax increased under major health shake-up, Health Minister Mark Butler announces, Here be dragons! "Love you Susie." : Supplied 1K1K 143 Comments 60 Shares Share All times AEST (GMT +10). He is the leader of Katter's Australian Party, having taken over from his father, Bob Katter in February 2020. In the 2022 election, he was re-elected again and became the Father of the Australian House of Representatives following the retirement of Kevin Andrews. Bob has served in the House of Representatives since 1993. ''Next question,'' he said. ''Doesn't matter,'' he says, and the next thing I know I'm in the car crawling through the traffic back to my office in inner-north Bowen Hills. Tasmania at the time had the world's harshest anti-homosexuality laws. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Swamp People is an American reality TV series first broadcast on History Channel on August 22, 2010. [23] He made headlines after singing to his party's candidates during a meeting on 17 October 2011, saying it was his "election jingle". I respect her wishes"" I don't think I minded,'' he considered. While at university, Katter was president of the University of Queensland Law Society and St Leos College. "50 years ago today, a rough-nut, wild Cloncurry boy married a beautiful, rich Brisbane socialite, " Mr Katter said. [10] He would not face another contest nearly that close for two decades. ''Its funny,'' Rob muses. Read related articles on Apumone.com and follow us on Twitter. He junior was a strong supporter of Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen while in the Queensland Parliament, although he remained in the cabinet under Mike Ahern, eventually resigning from the cabinet along with Russell Cooper. She has always kept a low profile, a good-looking woman in the manner of good-looking, country women - pressed shirt, A-line skirt, blonde, highlighted bob, pearls, sensible shoes. He is one of the richest and most influential politicians in Australia. Subsequently appointed to the Cabinet again in the traditional number two position of Mines and Energy. Company records show that John OBrien owns 95 per cent of the project. He left state politics in 1992 and was elected to federal parliament the following year, standing in the division of Kennedy (his fathers old seat). There is a bloody hand grenade rolling around that Parliament with a pin out of it, and its me. On 15 August 2017, Katter announced that the Turnbull government could not take his support for granted in the wake of the 2017 Australian parliamentary competency crisis, which followed concerns that several MPs held dual citizenship and may therefore be constitutionally ineligible to serve in to be the Parliament.