Never short of a soundbite, the MP has gone from country kid to Bjelke-Petersen-era Queensland, to federal parliament.
The man in the Akubra also goes by many names: The Maverick, The Mad Katter , Crocodile Katter , and now Father of the House, as he marks 50 years as a politician on December 7.His no-holds-barred style of politics has remained a constant as prime ministers and premiers have come and gone.He has stepped into the halls of parliament dressed up as a pig, the grim reaper, and carting wheelbarrows of bananas — always willing to play on his unconventional reputation to make a point.
"I remember the dust and the flies, I remember the skinniest kid in the playground who was bullied by the kids who were shoeless and tough, and the mates who stuck by him until he was tough as the rest," Mr Katter recalled.His father, Bob Katter Snr, was a one-time member of the Labor Party and union delegate who made the move from local business to council.
"I wasn't naive to politics … I've always been involved, but then Whitlam came along," Mr Katter said. Mr Katter said his move to federal politics was decided in a discussion with National Party ally, former Queensland speaker and cabinet minister Neil Turner.Three years after his father died, Mr Katter was narrowly elected for the Nationals in the seat of Kennedy in 1993, marking the beginning of a three decades-hold over the third largest federal electorate in Australia.
"I think it's less likely that we'll see another politician do 50 years in the future because more parliamentarians tend to see their political career as part of a wider professional career — a pathway to something or somewhere else."Professor Bongiorno said there had been a big shift in the make-up of the Australian parliament over the past half a century."Obviously, independents have become much more important, as have minor parties.
That was until the decades-long vision to drought-proof the arid lands of western Queensland was abandoned after reviews found it completely unviable.There have been eight Prime Ministers of Australia during Mr Katter's time in Canberra, stretching back to Labor's Paul Keating.
Katter Katter's Australian Party KAP Auspol Bob Katter 50 Years
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