General News
7 May, 2025
Katter reclaims Kennedy in federal Labor landslide
Bob Katter kept a steady primary vote in Saturday's federal election.
Hopes that Bob Katter might secure a prized kingmaker position at the federal election have been dashed with Labor set to govern with an overwhelming majority.
The Kennedy MP, who secured his 12th federal campaign victory on Saturday, said he believed the increased Labor vote came at the expense of the Greens, as well as a poorly run Coalition campaign.
He said the decimated Greens vote across Australia was evidence the public wanted to see increased economic development that delivered more jobs.
Mr Katter said this was a message that he hoped Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would heed.
“You can choose between economic development or some airy claim about saving the world,” Mr Katter said.
“People have demonstrated they want development and they want jobs and they care about an economic future.”
Mr Katter said the Coalition campaign was hampered by a lack of conviction in their own policies.
“(Peter) Dutton just retreated from all his positions and he never really recovered from that,” he told North West Weekly.
“He was listening to some bad advice from those around him.”
Mr Katter secured about 41 per cent of the primary vote at the Kennedy poll, which is near identical to his 2022 result.
“I never expect to win but I’m also not surprised when I win,” he said.
The LNP saw a sharp decline in its primary vote in Kennedy, which was seemingly picked up by the mysterious One Nation candidate Kate Harris.
Ms Harris received more than seven per cent of the vote despite making no public statements, providing no biography or corflutes, and didn’t even show a photo of herself during the entire campaign.
The Labor vote in Kennedy defied national trends, with no real increase in the primary vote at a local level.
Mr Katter acknowledged that he would be competing with the Teals and other cross-benchers when lobbying for action from the re-elected Albanese government.
However, he said history had taught him that pragmatism and “brute force” could win the day.
“I thought when I first got out of the party system and went independent that you would have an ability to take moral stands on issues but you wouldn’t be able to get anything,” he said.
“But just the opposite is true.
“I played a key role in removing a premier, two deputy premiers and a prime minister – that is all a matter of public record.
“During the live export debacle I gave a press conference at 10.30 in the morning and by midnight Julia Gillard was gone as Prime Minister.
“I did that to rescue the cattle industry.
“And after (Kevin) Rudd was put in, within nine days the market to Indonesia was reopened and within two months the price of cattle had doubled.
“You can have your political prejudices and you can continue to hold them but you will ultimately just continue to get screwed.”
Mr Katter identified securing a new buyer for Phosphate Hill as his top priority for Mount Isa.
“If we can secure a new buyer who can provide the gas needed, then that will bring 1000 new jobs to Mount Isa,” he claimed.