General News
15 September, 2024
Don't underestimate Katter's Australian Party, says leader
Heading into a state election, Robbie Katter believes he can influence policy for North Queensland.
Robbie Katter says the KAP can’t be ignored this election as he called on party leaders to focus on policy rather than catchy slogans.
The Traeger MP kicked off his fourth reelection campaign at the Dajarra rodeo on Saturday as he prepares to traverse the length and breadth of North Queensland in the hope of leading an expanded KAP after the October 26 poll.
The KAP ranks increased last week with former One Nation-turned Independent member for Mirani Stephen Andrew officially becoming the party’s fourth elected member in state parliament.
There has been scuttlebutt in recent weeks that the KAP could become kingmakers if the election resulted in a hung parliament, which would provide a window for Mr Katter to negotiate for much-needed infrastructure funding in the Traeger electorate.
Mr Katter is expected to focus his campaigning on retaining the KAP’s existing seats, including the Mirani electorate south of Mackay, as well as seeking victory in the far-north seat of Cook with former police officer Duane Amos attempting to oust Labor.
The stalwart KAP seats of Hill, held by Shane Knuth by a margin of 22.5 per cent, and Hinchinbrook, held by Nick Dametto by a margin of 14.8 per cent, are favoured to be retained.
The KAP is also running candidates in key electorates surrounding Townsville and Cairns, with minor party preferences likely to prove crucial to both Labor and LNP in those cities.
Despite a 3.8 per cent swing to Labor at the 2020 election, Mr Katter has recorded about 60 per cent of the primary vote across the last two state elections, giving him an enviable margin of about 24.8 per cent in Traeger.
Mr Katter said he believed the major parties were paying attention to the movements of the KAP at this election.
“They are definitely looking at the prospect that it could be a tight parliament – everyone takes a lot of notice of you before the election because they might need you later on,” he told North West Weekly.
“That’s one of the strengths we see in having four MPs in the parliament now – no matter what happens in the election cycle, they might need you and so they can’t afford to ignore the KAP.
“We could probably win more votes if we just relied on catchy slogans, but I like to think we back up what we are saying at the election by introducing bills into the parliament.”