General News
2 September, 2025
EDITORIAL: A bad week for Katter's Australian Party
The North Queensland-based party has hurt its reputation following events over the past five days.
With the cost of living crisis spiralling out of control, the future of the Mount Isa copper smelter still up in the air, and the Flinders Highway in a state of disrepair – along with countless other roads in the region – it's been hard to stomach the stance of the Katter's Australian Party this past week.
While North West Queensland has serious issues, our elected officials have been making the national news for all of the wrong reasons.
Firstly, Bob Katter should apologise to journalist Josh Bavas for accusing him of being "racist" after he asked a straightforward question at a press conference in Brisbane last Thursday.
It was a response unbecoming of a Member of Parliament.
Now, The Greens are calling on the Member for Kennedy to apologise or resign.
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has written to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission requesting an investigation into Mr Katter's conduct.
The long-term MP's threat to the reporter came after he was questioned about his heritage ahead of "March for Australia" rallies that took place across the country on Sunday.
Mr Katter then doubled down on Monday, saying he wished he had "gone further" with his threat.
Resigning might be a step too far, but an apology is a must.
The journalist was simply asking a question, noting that Mr Katter descended from migrants. He didn't even get to finish before he was interrupted by the 80-year-old parliamentarian.
Things took a turn for the worse when all four KAP elected representatives – Bob, his son and KAP leader Robbie, along with fellow state MPs Shane Knuth and Nick Dametto – attended a Townsville rally with known neo-Nazis.
In one photo, Mr Dametto is posing with three people who are linked to the neo-Nazi movement.
While the KAP denies it is aligned with those values – and we believe them – it presents an unflattering image for a party that is still trying to establish its identity in Queensland.
It was known ahead of time that neo-Nazis were driving the "March for Australia" rallies and would have a strong presence on the ground. Very few MPs around Australia attended the rallies, yet all four KAP representatives showed up in Townsville.
As Mount Isa prepares to hold its annual Multicultural Festival, an event which has received support from both Katters over the years, organisers and attendees would have every right to feel uncomfortable if either showed their faces there this Friday night.
This region, but Mount Isa in particular, was built on the hard work of migrants.
While there is an argument to be made about the housing crisis and whether Australia should be restricting the intake of overseas arrivals, the best place to make that case is on the floor of parliament.
The KAP has justified its selective migration ideologies on "democracy" and "rule of law".
It's time they practised what they preach.