Katter's Australian Party
Encyclopedia
Katter's Australian Party is a registered political party in Australia
. It was formed by the independent Federal Member of Parliament Bob Katter
with a registration application lodged to the Australian Electoral Commission
on 3 June 2011. The party is calling for members and candidates for Queensland and federal electorates.
On 9 August 2011, Katter's Australian Party announced plans to merge with state Beaudesert
MP Aidan McLindon
's Queensland Party
. The new party will continue with Katter's party name, with Katter as federal leader and McLindon as state leader. McLindon has stated he will resign from the Queensland Party before joining Katter's Australian Party.. The proposed merger has not yet gone ahead and the Queensland Party continues to exist without parliamentary representation.
On 17 August 2011, the party's application for registration was denied by the Australian Electoral Commission, on the grounds that the abbreviated party name ("The Australian Party") was too generic and likely to cause confusion. On 27 September 2011, Katter's Australian Party was registered by the Australian Electoral Commission.
MP Rob Messenger has expressed interest in joining the party if it adopts a ban on Sharia law and an increase in the size of the military as part of its policy platform. Following the merger with the Queensland Party, Messenger declared he would not join the new party as it intended to run against sitting independents at the next Queensland state election
.
Following the merger, the party refused membership to former police officer Jason Somerville, who was the Queensland Party's candidate for Ferny Grove, after Somerville failed to meet the party's application criteria.
On 30 October 2011, McLindon was joined by Shane Knuth
, the LNP member for Dalrymple
, who said the LNP had not been beneficial for rural and the LNP merger had been a Liberal takeover that had been "disastrous" for regional representation, with rural MPs having no say. Knuth also stated that stand-over tactics and secret LNP files on Labor MPs, that included information such as sexual behaviour, as having influenced his decision.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It was formed by the independent Federal Member of Parliament Bob Katter
Bob Katter
Robert Carl "Bob" Katter is an Australian federal politician, a member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1993 for the Division of Kennedy, and the leader of Katter's Australian Party...
with a registration application lodged to the Australian Electoral Commission
Australian Electoral Commission
The Australian Electoral Commission, or the AEC, is the federal government agency in charge of organising and supervising federal elections and referendums. State and local government elections are overseen by the Electoral Commission in each state and territory.The Australian Electoral Commission...
on 3 June 2011. The party is calling for members and candidates for Queensland and federal electorates.
On 9 August 2011, Katter's Australian Party announced plans to merge with state Beaudesert
Electoral district of Beaudesert
-External links:*...
MP Aidan McLindon
Aidan McLindon
Aidan Patrick McLindon is an Australian politician. He was first elected for the seat of Beaudesert to the Queensland State Parliament for the Liberal National Party of Queensland at the 2009 Queensland Election...
's Queensland Party
The Queensland Party
The Queensland Party is a political party based in Queensland, Australia. It is not affiliated with the North Queensland Party. The Queensland Party had one member in the Queensland Legislative Assembly and claims to be "neither left nor right with a focus on providing a balanced, moderate voice"...
. The new party will continue with Katter's party name, with Katter as federal leader and McLindon as state leader. McLindon has stated he will resign from the Queensland Party before joining Katter's Australian Party.. The proposed merger has not yet gone ahead and the Queensland Party continues to exist without parliamentary representation.
On 17 August 2011, the party's application for registration was denied by the Australian Electoral Commission, on the grounds that the abbreviated party name ("The Australian Party") was too generic and likely to cause confusion. On 27 September 2011, Katter's Australian Party was registered by the Australian Electoral Commission.
Policies
The first policies announced by Katter include:- Opposition to carbon taxes, support for renewable energy such as ethanolEthanolEthanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
. - Legislate to limit Woolworths and Coles to 22.5 per cent market share each.
- Halt any privatisation and renationalise privatised assets.
- All government spending on goods to be on Australian products where possible.
- Significantly increase customs duty on products coming into Australia.
- Resist any change to the Marriage Act to include same-sex couples.
- Restore individual rights, such as "fishing freely and boiling a billyBillycanA billycan, more commonly known simply as a billy or occasionally as a billy can , is a lightweight cooking pot which is used on a campfire or a camping stove.-Usage and etymology of the term:...
without a permit".
Queensland state politics
Katter has indicated he will field candidates at the next Queensland state election, should the party be successful in formally registering with the ECQ. Queensland IndependentIndependent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
MP Rob Messenger has expressed interest in joining the party if it adopts a ban on Sharia law and an increase in the size of the military as part of its policy platform. Following the merger with the Queensland Party, Messenger declared he would not join the new party as it intended to run against sitting independents at the next Queensland state election
Next Queensland state election
The 2012 Queensland state election will elect all 89 members of the Legislative Assembly. Queensland elections must be held on a Saturday, the last possible date being calculated by reference to the previous election writs, and therefore slightly longer than 3 years after the previous election...
.
Following the merger, the party refused membership to former police officer Jason Somerville, who was the Queensland Party's candidate for Ferny Grove, after Somerville failed to meet the party's application criteria.
On 30 October 2011, McLindon was joined by Shane Knuth
Shane Knuth
Shane Andrew Knuth is an Australian politician. He has represented the seats of Charters Towers and Dalrymple in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, for the National Party , the Liberal National Party and Katter's Australian Party .Knuth was born in the Queensland town of Tully...
, the LNP member for Dalrymple
Electoral district of Dalrymple
The district of Dalrymple is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland.-Geography:Based in inland northern Queensland, Dalrymple is a north–south elongated electorate, running from the Atherton Tableland west of Cairns at its northern end, down to areas...
, who said the LNP had not been beneficial for rural and the LNP merger had been a Liberal takeover that had been "disastrous" for regional representation, with rural MPs having no say. Knuth also stated that stand-over tactics and secret LNP files on Labor MPs, that included information such as sexual behaviour, as having influenced his decision.
Parliamentary leaders
| Leader | Term | Leader's seat |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Katter Bob Katter Robert Carl "Bob" Katter is an Australian federal politician, a member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1993 for the Division of Kennedy, and the leader of Katter's Australian Party... (Federal) |
2011–present | Kennedy Division of Kennedy The Division of Kennedy is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. The division is notable for its size, relative to other electoral divisions... |
| Aidan McLindon Aidan McLindon Aidan Patrick McLindon is an Australian politician. He was first elected for the seat of Beaudesert to the Queensland State Parliament for the Liberal National Party of Queensland at the 2009 Queensland Election... (QLD) |
2011–present | Beaudesert Electoral district of Beaudesert -External links:*... |