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Australian politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Carl Ignatius Katter (born 3 March 1977) is an Australian politician. He serves as the member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland for Traeger, having previously represented Mount Isa from 2012 to 2017.[4] He is the leader of Katter's Australian Party, having taken over from his father Bob Katter in February 2020.
Robbie Katter | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Katter in 2015 | |
| Leader of the Katter's Australian Party | |
| Assumed office 3 February 2020 | |
| Deputy | Nick Dametto |
| Preceded by | Bob Katter |
| In office 26 April 2012 – 29 November 2012 Interim | |
| Deputy | Shane Knuth Aiden McLindon |
| Succeeded by | Ray Hopper |
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Traeger (2017–present) Mount Isa (2012–2017) | |
| Assumed office 24 March 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Betty Kiernan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Carl Ignatius Katter 3 March 1977 Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
| Political party | Katter's Australian (since 2011) |
| Other political affiliations | National (before 2001) Independent (2001–2011) |
| Spouse(s) |
Stacey Milner
(m. 2005; div. 2009)Daisy Hatfield
(m. 2017) |
| Relations | Katter family |
| Parent(s) | Bob Katter Jr. Susan O'Rourke |
| Relatives | Bob Katter Sr. (grandfather) Carl Katter (half–uncle) Alex Douglas (cousin) |
| Residence(s) | Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia |
| Education | St. Columba Catholic College |
| Alma mater | Queensland University of Technology |
| Occupation | |
| Profession | |
| Website | robbiekatter |
| |
Katter was born on 3 March 1977 in North Queensland.[4][5] His father is Bob Katter, the federal member for Kennedy and founder of Katter's Australian Party, and his grandfather Bob Katter Sr. was also a federal MP. He received a Bachelor of Applied Science in Property Economics from the Queensland University of Technology.[4]
Katter started his career as a mine worker in Mount Isa,[4][5] before working as a property valuer for fifteen years and running a small business in Mount Isa.[6]
He won Mount Isa at the 2012 state election, pushing Labor incumbent Betty Kiernan into third place.[5][7] He capitalised on his family's name recognition in the area. Mount Isa was virtually coextensive with the western portion of his father's federal seat of Kennedy, and much of the eastern portion of the seat was once part of the elder Katter's old state seat of Flinders.
After his election to the Legislative Assembly, he became Queensland leader of his father's party, but on 29 November 2012, it was announced that he had been succeeded as leader by Ray Hopper, and would become the party's "parliamentary secretary".[8] Following Hopper's defeat at the 2015 election, Katter once again became state leader.[9]
The state electorate of Mount Isa was abolished in 2017, and Katter followed most of his constituents into the new seat of Traeger. The new seat was essentially the northern, more urbanised portion of Katter's former seat, and is based on Mount Isa. The seat was created as a comfortably safe KAP seat, and Katter won it handily.
He serves on the boards of the Laura Johnson Home, a retirement home, and the Southern Gulf Catchments, an environmental organisation.[4]
In February 2020, he was appointed leader of the Katter's Australian Party.[10]
At the 2020 Queensland state election Katter retained his seat of Traeger with 58.85 per cent of first preference votes and 74.72 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote.[11]
Robbie Katter is an agrarian socialist, beginning a speech in the Queensland Parliament in 2017 by saying "The members opposite refer to agrarian socialism as though it is a bad thing. I wear it like a badge."
In 2020, Katter called for the federal government to buy back Qantas Airline.[12][13]
In April 2022, Katter said he will move a bill to ban transgender athletes from women's sport in the state.[14] In May 2022, he proposed a motion which was voted down 49 votes to 33. The opposition Liberal National Party of Queensland voted with him.[15]
Katter advocates for North Queensland statehood.[16] On May 22, 2024, Katter introduced a motion in the Queensland Parliament that would separate North Queensland from the rest of the state, and called for a Referendum to be held in the North to allow residents to have their say on the matter. Katter claimed that the region was being neglected by the state's South East, particularly in the areas of investment, infrastructure and disaster relief.[17]
Katter is anti abortion and has made a pledge to introduce a Private Members Bill into the post election 2024 Queensland Parliament[18]
Katter is married to Daisy (née Hatfield),[19] a former journalist. They met when Daisy was working for WIN Television in Townsville on an assignment to interview him. They have one child, Peaches Grace Katter, born 2020.[20][21]
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