Katter's Australian Party facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Katter's Australian Party
Abbreviation	KAP
Leader	Robbie Katter
Deputy Leader	Nick Dametto
President	Chris Carney
Founder	Bob Katter
Founded	5 June 2011; 14 years ago (5 June 2011)
Registered	27 September 2011
Merger of	Queensland Party (2011)
Headquarters	2/321 Sturt Street, Townsville, Queensland
Membership (2013)	1,500
Ideology	Populism Agrarian socialism Social conservatism Economic nationalism North Queensland statehood
Colours	Dark red
House of Representatives	1 / 151
Senate	0 / 76
Queensland Legislative Assembly	3 / 93
Politics of Australia Political parties

Katter's Australian Party, often called KAP, is a political party in Australia. It focuses on helping farmers and people in regional areas. The party also supports traditional social values and wants to protect Australian businesses.

Bob Katter, a politician who used to be part of the Nationals party, started KAP. He officially registered the party in 2011. Bob Katter has been re-elected to the Australian Parliament several times under the KAP name. These elections included 2013, 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2025.

The party has also won seats in the Queensland state parliament. They won two seats in 2012 and kept them in 2015. In 2017, they won an extra seat, which they held onto in 2020 and 2024. In February 2020, Bob Katter passed the leadership of the party to his son, Robbie Katter, who is a Queensland state politician.

What's in a Name?

Party founder Bob Katter

When the party first tried to register, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) said no. This was on August 17, 2011. The AEC thought the name "The Australian Party" was too common and might confuse people.

However, on September 27, 2011, the AEC approved the name "Katter's Australian Party." Even though they couldn't use the shorter name nationally, they were able to register "The Australian Party" in Queensland. This meant the party's name looked different on election ballots depending on the state. KAP tried to change this, but they were not successful.

What Katter's Australian Party Believes In

KAP focuses on issues important to farmers and rural communities. People describe the party as conservative and nationalist. This means they like traditional values and want to put Australia's interests first.

When it comes to money and business, KAP supports:

• Protectionism: This means they want to protect Australian industries by making it harder for foreign goods to be sold cheaply here.
• Economic Nationalism: They believe Australia should control its own economy and resources.
• Tariffs: These are taxes on imported goods, which make foreign products more expensive and encourage people to buy Australian.
• North Queensland Statehood: They want North Queensland to become its own separate state.

Here are some of the party's main ideas:

Crime and Safety

• Relocation Sentencing: For young people who keep committing crimes, especially in places like Townsville, KAP suggests sending them to remote areas. This would be instead of letting them return to the same places where they offended.
• Mandatory Minimum Sentencing: They want judges to give a minimum prison time for people who commit crimes again and again.
• Carjacking: They propose at least three years in prison for carjacking and stealing cars.

Economy and Jobs

• Government Bank: They want to create a bank owned by the government to help businesses grow.
• Essential Services: KAP believes that important services like airports, water, electricity, and public transport should be run by the government, not private companies.

Energy and Environment

• New Dams: They support building more dams to help with irrigation for farms and to create hydro-electricity.
• Better Power Networks: They want to improve how electricity is delivered.
• No Carbon Tax: They are against taxes on carbon emissions.
• Ethanol and Solar: They support using alternative energy sources like ethanol (fuel from plants) and solar power.
• Protecting Water: They want to make sure enough water goes to farms in areas like the Murray Darling Basin.
• Bio-security: They want stronger rules to prevent diseases from entering Australia.

Firearms and Gun Control

• Easier Gun Ownership: They want to make it simpler for law-abiding citizens to own firearms.
• Handguns for Farmers: They believe farmers who already have a gun license should be allowed to own handguns.

Workers' Rights

• Collective Bargaining: They believe workers, especially farmers, should be able to join together to negotiate for better pay and conditions.
• 457 Visas: They want to stop big businesses from using special visas (457 visas) to replace Australian workers or lower their pay.

Infrastructure

• Roads and Rails: They want better roads and train lines to help regional areas grow.

Property Rights

• Landholder Consent: No mining or exploration should happen on someone's land without their permission.
• Home Ownership: They want government policies to make it easier for people to own their own homes.

Public Service

• Whistleblowers: They believe the government should protect people who report problems or wrongdoing in public services.
• Audits: They want regular, independent checks of government departments.

Business Rules

• Supermarket Limits: They want to limit how much of the market big supermarkets like Woolworths and Coles can control.
• No Privatisation: They are against selling government-owned services to private companies. They believe private companies will raise prices to make more money.
• Fair Markets: They want to make sure farmers get a fair price for their products, especially in industries like dairy and sugar.
• Individual Rights: They want to restore simple rights, like being able to fish freely without needing a permit.
• Bank Lending: They believe banks should lend money in ways that improve the lives of average Australians.

Trade

• Buy Australian: They want the government to buy Australian-made goods whenever possible.
• Australian Steel: Any building projects funded by the Australian government should use Australian steel.
• Australian Cars: Government vehicles should be Australian-made.
• Australian Uniforms: Uniforms for the armed forces, police, and prisons should be made in Australia.
• Customs Duty: They want to significantly increase taxes on products coming into Australia.
• Supermarket Shelves: Australian-made goods should get the best shelf space in supermarkets.
• Foreign Ownership: They want to prevent foreign companies from buying important Australian assets like land or resources, unless it's clearly in Australia's best interest.
• No Monopolies: They want to stop big companies from taking over entire industries.

KAP in Federal Politics

2013 Federal Election

In the 2013 federal election, Katter's Australian Party received about 1% of the votes across Australia. Their best results were in Queensland. Bob Katter kept his seat in Kennedy.

2016 Federal Election

In the 2016 federal election, KAP received about 0.5% of the votes. Bob Katter again kept his seat in Kennedy, with more people voting for him. After this election, Bob Katter said he would support the government if they needed help to form a majority.

2019 Federal Election

In the 2019 federal election, Bob Katter won his seat of Kennedy again. The party also had candidates in other areas of Queensland and for the Senate.

2022 Federal Election

In the 2022 federal election, Bob Katter once more kept his seat in Kennedy. The party also had candidates in three other electorates in Queensland.

2025 Federal Election

In the 2025 federal election, Bob Katter successfully held his seat in Kennedy. The party also had candidates in two other Queensland electorates. For this election, KAP teamed up with another party, Gerard Rennick People First, for the Senate election in Queensland.

KAP in State Politics

Queensland

The 2024 Queensland state election. The Brown areas show seats held by Katter's Australian Party.

KAP ran candidates in the 2012 Queensland state election. They joined with another party called The Queensland Party. Robbie Katter won the seat of Mount Isa, and Shane Knuth won Dalrymple.

In November 2012, another politician, Ray Hopper, joined KAP. He became the party's Queensland state leader.

In the 2015 Queensland state election, Shane Knuth and Robbie Katter kept their seats. The election was very close, and KAP had a chance to decide which major party would form the government. They met with both parties and listed 28 things they wanted. However, another independent politician decided to support the Labor party, so KAP's help was not needed.

In the 2017 Queensland state election, KAP increased their number of seats to three. Shane Knuth won Hill, Robbie Katter won Traeger, and Nick Dametto won Hinchinbrook. They became the third largest party in the Queensland Parliament.

KAP kept their three seats in the 2020 Queensland state election. Robbie Katter, Shane Knuth, and Nick Dametto were all re-elected. They also kept their seats in the 2024 Queensland state election.

Other States

KAP has also tried to gain support in other states.

• In Tasmania, they had interest from potential candidates for the 2013 federal election.
• In South Australia, an independent politician helped them register for the 2014 state election, but their candidates were not successful.
• In Victoria, KAP merged with another party, the Australian Country Alliance, for the 2014 state election.
• In 2018, the party ran a candidate in a special election in New South Wales. This was the last time the party had a candidate outside of Queensland.

Who Funds KAP?

Katter's Australian Party has received a lot of money from groups that support firearms. For example, in 2020-21, they received large donations from the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia and Shooters Union Qld. A report in 2019 showed that KAP received more money from pro-gun groups than any other Australian political party between 2011 and 2018.

Leaders of Katter's Australian Party

Federal Leader

No.	Leader	Portrait	Electorate	Term of office
1	Bob Katter		Kennedy, Qld.	5 June 2011 – 3 February 2020
2	Robbie Katter		Traeger	3 February 2020 – Incumbent

State Leaders

Queensland Leader

No.	Leader	Portrait	Electorate	Term of office
1	Aidan McLindon		Beaudesert	9 August 2011 – 26 April 2012
2	Ray Hopper		Condamine	29 November 2012 – 2 February 2015
3	Robbie Katter		Mount Isa (until 2017) Traeger (from 2017)	2 February 2015 – Incumbent

Queensland Deputy Leader

Election Results

Here's how Katter's Australian Party has performed in elections:

Federal Elections

Queensland State Elections

KAP Parliamentarians

Image	Name	Chamber	Electorate	Term began	Term ended
	Katter, BobBob Katter	Australian House of Representatives	Kennedy (Qld)	5 June 2011	incumbent
	McLindon, AidanAidan McLindon	Queensland Legislative Assembly	Beaudesert	9 August 2011	24 March 2012
	Knuth, ShaneShane Knuth	Queensland Legislative Assembly	Dalrymple	30 October 2011	25 November 2017
			Hill	25 November 2017	incumbent
	Katter, RobbieRobbie Katter	Queensland Legislative Assembly	Mount Isa	24 March 2012	25 November 2017
			Traeger	25 November 2017	incumbent
	Hopper, RayRay Hopper	Queensland Legislative Assembly	Condamine	25 November 2012	31 January 2015
	Dametto, NickNick Dametto	Queensland Legislative Assembly	Hinchinbrook	25 November 2017	incumbent
	Anning, FraserFraser Anning	Australian Senate	Queensland	4 June 2018	25 October 2018
	Andrew, StephenStephen Andrew	Queensland Legislative Assembly	Mirani	9 September 2024	26 October 2024

See also

In Spanish: Partido Australiano de Katter para niños

• Bob Katter
• Robbie Katter
• List of political parties in Australia
• Katter family