BOBBY DAZZLER
Katters eye seat switcheroo
KENNEDY MP Bob Katter could retire to make way for his son at a federal level in a bold plan being floated after the shake- up of electoral boundaries.
The Bulletin has learned key figures in Katter’s Australian Party are considering a reshuffle after the new boundaries indicated Shane Knuth’s seat of Dalrymple would be abolished.
The plan would involve Bob Katter retiring, Rob Katter running in Kennedy and Mr Knuth taking up the renamed Mount Isa electorate, Traegar.
When asked about the plan, Rob Katter said “nothing was off the table”.
“We’re all pragmatic enough … we’ll be sitting down with the party executives and charting a course forward,” he said. “People in the North are desperate for strong representation … and we can’t walk away from that.”
KENNEDY MP Bob Katter could retire to make way for his son at a federal level under a bold plan being floated amid a massive shake- up of Queensland’s electorates.
The Bulletin understands key figures inside Katter’s Australia Party are considering a reshuffle at both state and federal levels since the Queensland Redistribution Commission recommended Shane Knuth’s Dalrymple seat be abolished.
The proposal would involve Bob Katter retiring from federal politics and Rob Katter running in Kennedy, with Shane Knuth campaigning in the Traegar electorate currently known as Mount Isa.
When questioned about the plan, Rob Katter said “nothing was off the table”.
“We’re all pragmatic enough … we’ll be sitting down with the party executives and chartingh ti a course forward,” he said. “From our perspective people in the North are desperate for strong representation, as we’ve demonstrated, and we can’t walk away from that.
“( Even if) that means any number of us changing seats or stepping up.”
But Mr Katter said his father kept his cards closer to his chest than anyone he knew.
“Clearly there’ll be a time where he’ll stop representing as a member of the lower house,” he said.
“We have to look at what’s best to push our cause for the people of North Queensland.
“We’ll be talking with the party executives and for the next few weeks this ( redistribution) will be a big focus.”
Mr Katter said he had no doubt Mr Knuth could secure v victory in Traegar.
“He would win it by 10 l lengths … It’s a much bigger c conversation than just Shane a and I,” he said.
“It’s a blow to Shane personally to have to walk away from a seat he’s done so much for. This is the time to claw back a bit from the majors.”
Mr Knuth said he had no concrete plans at this stage.
“There are definitely a range of options and I’m definitely not ruling out running again,” he said.
“I will be communicating with my family and seeking views from constituents about a way forward from here.”
Mr Knuth said he was dis- appointed the QRC followed suggestions made by Labor and LNP for the region.
“The submission made by the KAP clearly suggests minimal changes to each seat while retaining all seats in rural and regional Queensland,” he said.
“Instead they overhauled them to abolish one seat. My constituents are quite annoyed at how there are four extra seats in Brisbane and they still choose to punish rural and regional Queensland.”
Kennedy MP Bob Katter said the redistribution was a “fandangling” from the major parties designed to break KAP.
“North and western Queensland feels revulsion,” he said. “We remain the only country on earth that demands all electorates be of equal populations. All others allow for distance, remoteness, sparseness and racial equality.”