Bob Katter: The King of Political Aussie Antics

James Hay, Katterwauler • September 25, 2025

Government, while a subject of much criticism, is a wonderful thing that has given us some of our most significant protections and freedoms.

However, today we are not here to be serious or critical. We are here to have fun and examine some of the less serious moments of government in my home nation of Australia. There are so many events we could talk about; however, today I would like to focus on perhaps the unintentionally funniest man in contemporary Australian politics: the man, the myth, the not-so-Lebanese legend (that joke will be explained), Bob Katter.

But first, we must start at the beginning. So when the world was not yet created, all was dark, and then a big bang . . . okay, maybe not that far back. Maybe just the beginning of Bob.

Bob Katter was born on May 22nd, 1945, in rural Queensland, Australia. He went on to attend the University of Queensland, where he studied law before dropping out. From here, he had various occupations and journeys, joining the Citizens Military Forces from 1964 to 1972 and working in insurance, cattle, and mining. His main career, however, has been in politics. He has held office in various parties, first winning election to the House of Representatives in the 1993 federal election as a member of the National Party. He then went on to win again as an independent, and then also formed his own party in early 2011, which he quite creatively named Katter’s Australia Party. His electorate is that of Kennedy, which covers large swaths of Northern Queensland at the base of Cape York (for Americans, the big pointy bit up the top).

From this point forward, there is not even a potential continuity, so I am going to start a new segment called:

“Tales From the Bob”

Was that a particularly ominous crack of thunder I just heard? Huh. I could have sworn that the forecast called for straight sun.

Tale 1: The not-so-Lebanese legend

Our first tale from the Bob began on a not-so-dark-and-stormy night around a month ago. In fact, it wasn’t even night: On August 26th, around midday, Bob Katter was being questioned by various press about immigration and foreigners when “it” happened.

A statement so truly vile to Katter’s sensibilities was uttered: “You, being of Lebanese heritage yourself . . .”

This statement was so uncouth that it snapped to Katter like it was his CIA activation code. He hauled off, saying, “I punch blokes in the mouth for saying that, don’t you dare say that! . . . My family have been in this country for 140 years . . . I have, on many occasions, punched blokes in the mouth, right! So I’m restraining myself today. Don’t say it!”

This comment by the journo was due to Katter indeed being of Lebanese heritage through his paternal grandfather. Katter is entitled to his opinions, just like anyone is, but I think it is safe to say that most people would not be that mad if someone asked them about heritage that they have. Now, while this was seen in the Australian media and public as an abhorrent event, causing strong condemnation, and while I agree that a politician throwing out threats to punch out journos is bad . . . I mean, come on, it’s BOB, for goodness’ sake. He will be who he will be and nothing will change it. In the next examples I will show why I don’t take this that seriously, as this is probably the least wacky thing he has ever done.

Tale 2: Put in quite a pickle(d egg)

The date was June 29th, 1964. It was a clear and not-so-stormy midday in Brisbane. The bogans sang out their mating calls while yobbos pranced around in the glistening summer sun . . . but today was not just any day. Something special was awry. At Brisbane Airport, a plane landed carrying perhaps the most famous people to visit Australia other than the King: a popular beat combo from England known as The Beatles. They were riding high on tour, getting ready for their shows down under after a visit to the kiwi land across the Tasman Sea, parading around the airport surrounded by screeching fans who emitted such a banshee-like howl that they nearly burst Ringo’s (ear) drums. But then, at such a joyous and emotional moment, one of the worst acts of political and cultural violence in Australian history happened.

An egg sailed across the air, time seemingly slowing as it was hurtling towards the stars. It came crashing down to the floor near the Beatles truck, but then, just as the shocked audience thought the incident was over, more followed. The barrage of breakfast food continued for around a minute. Thankfully, the band seemed unhurt, emerging from the incident by ducking behind the piano next to them, although their confident shells were newly cracked and they were clearly shaken to their yolks. Sadly, the same could not be said for the eggs: all but one of them died on impact. The last was reported as dying a few days later in a non-service-related incident.

In the resulting fog of war, the Beatles fled to their hotel. The search was nonetheless on: the Fab Four published an ad in the paper to ask their avian assailants to come forward. Despite their effort, most of the confessions were rather an attempt to meet the Beatles instead of real statements of remorse. That was that, and the myth and legend of the egg man was enshrined into public knowledge, though most Australians didn’t know or care much about the incident.

That is, until one of the criminals came forward in 2004 in an ABC interview. That ovoid oppressor was none other than one Bob Katter, who confessed to the matter and, when questioned why, said that it was an “intellectual reaction against Beatlemania.”

Tale 3: The Flowery and the Ferocious

Our next tale is about a topic very near and dear to the debates of the 2000s: gay marriage. Bob Katter, despite being a gentle and caring man, had originally taken the stance that it was a horrendous thing that should not happen. Despite this rhetoric, Bob eventually managed to get with the times and decided that maybe it’s kinda alright.

This came to a head in a press conference after a vote on a same-sex marriage bill in November of 2017. Bob was asked by a local journo (which, as we can see, is sometimes a dangerous affair) whether, roughly paraphrased, he supported the bill that had just passed. Bob responded by heightening his voice and saying in his raspy (yet lovely) voice, “I mean, you know, people are entitled to their . . . proclivities. Let there be a thousand blossoms bloom, as far as I am concerned.” At that moment, the heavens opened up, as the Lord’s decree had been stated, but then all of a sudden Bob stopped.

His brow lowering along with his voice, he became stern and fierce, as if he had just realized that he had just seen the Beatles walk by, and added, “But I ain’t spending any time on it because in the meantime, every three months, a person is torn to pieces by a crocodile in North Queensland!“

Ah yes, Bob, such a good point. We all remember the great crocodile killings of ‘17 (where one person was killed), and I mean, it only gets worse as you realize that a total of 11 people have been killed . . . since 1985. Now, most people found this very funny and moved on, but actually I think that this was a genius fourth-dimension-hyperquantum-entangled-style chess move to fundamentally change the conversation. I mean, think about it? Is anyone talking about gay marriage now, or his position on it? NO! They’re just thinking about crocodiles. Now, this would have maybe worked better had the bill in question not already passed, but I digress.

Tale 4: Pig Bad Bob

For our last Tale from the Bob, we are looking at one of Australia’s favorite topics in politics: the supermarkets. A little backstory! Supermarkets in Australia are incredibly monopolized: there are really only two main options, Woolworths or Coles. These two giants own everything and fight against each other to try and achieve market dominance. They are both incredibly greedy companies known for extorting farmers and forcing down their prices to near-unprofitable levels. Due to this, they are a huge discussion topic, and of course no one other than our boy Bob decided to get in on this discourse in a rather inventive way.

It was a cold and miserable day in Canberra (otherwise known as nearly any day in Canberra) in mid-February 2024. Parliamentary proceedings were sprouting and special interest groups reciting their schpiels, much like Pokémon with their names. All of a sudden, however, the peace was broken by a thing walking down the hall. It was large, pink, and had a North Queensland accent—and by God, it was Bob Katter. To protest the supermarkets, Bob and fellow MP Andrew Wilkie had donned their finest apparel—inflatable pig suits—and were walking through the halls of Parliament House pretending to gobble up $100 bills, each of the costumes emblazoned with a logo of either Coles or Woolworths across the chest. On top of this, in comments about the grocery industry, Katter then said that the profits the supermarkets were receiving were “piggy” and that they were charging consumers a “squillion” dollars.

Now, I don’t know what to say to this. I mean, what do you say to this? All I can say is that, even though this act of protest probably did nothing, this was really funny. I mean, the moment I first saw the photo [Ed. Note—it’s last in the gallery above], I could not contain my laughter. It is just a perfect way to show the sheer aura of goofiness that this man has around him.

Conclusion

That is all for our spooky tales for now, but I must end by saying one or two things.

First, I do not agree with Bob on most of his policies, and he has done damage to some communities, but I have chosen to overlook that to write a more lighthearted article. Just know there is much more to the man and I would highly encourage looking further into more grounded discussions of his doings, rather than the funny and light highlights I have promoted here.

Second, thank you for reading. I hope I was able to either inform you, or at least make you crack a smile at some of these Aussie antics.