I wish to correct an far too often used expression: "Far right wing" party.
Katter stands for ordinary australians.
Far right implies almost nazi totalitarian state.
Katter is for us ordinary aussies.
However the trade union mafia types in government are the "far Left socialists!

That first post is a classic. It looks like it is not politically correct to label anyone Far Right but open slather on Centrists or the Centre/Left (even sometimes the Centre/Right) as kaliG then ignores his own advice and puts the boot in.

Centrists have become the new Left in this country being continually labelled as Commos or socialists. There is a big difference between a social democracy within a mixed economy and a Socialist State.

Perhaps kaliG could take some of his/her own advice.

As for the Katter Party I would not label it as Far Right necessarily, Katter does advocate some government intervention on some fronts and opposes unfettered free trade particularly for agriculture and manufacturing. There is certainly a strong libertarian element which can be a good or a bad thing depending on how far it goes in opening up gaps for exploitation and in loosening gun ownership legislation. That last point will lose them votes even on the Right I reckon. Howard's gun reform was greeted warmly overall with little opposition.

The claims that The Queensland Party has merged with Katter's Australian Party are false. There was no vote, and therefore no merger. About half of The Queensland Party candidates have decided to stick with the Party and it's principles. Aidan McLindon is looking like the Sonny Bill Williams of politics: he can't seem to choose a team (LNP-IND-TQP-KAP) and now may even change sport. It is likely he will be warming the benches while the real players get the job done.

The Queensland Party is on a membership drive to ensure it meets the obligations of the ECQ, since the defection of it's Parliamentary Leader to the unregistered Katter Party. Go here to find out how you can help TQP stay registered. www.queenslandparty.org.au

We have all seen the spectacle of elected representatives who turn their back on their constituents. The Queensland Party is the only Party whose constitution bids them to represent their electorate first. The Queensland Party has the right platform, the right policies and the right principles to remain a credible alternative to Labor and Greens voters who will not be likely to support a hard turn to the right under a personality driven party like Katter's. The Queensland Party is also attractive to LNP voters who may be disillusioned with the LNP for catching the NSW disease and installing a leader with a glass jaw and a tin ear.

I am a political refugee from a communist country. (some time ago)
However I am better qualified to see just how covertly the present government is pushing this country to the far Left.
Just look how many trade union "heavies" are in Parliament.
Trade unions were set up to control the government and to control private business. Just look how many business are sent overseas as they are no longer profitable due to wage demands.
The poor schmuck aussie is still believe that the trade unions of the pre war era are still thinking of them.

Hi Zach,
Firstly I need to correct some misinformation.
There has been no merger. As Deputy Chair of The Qld Party I can assure you of that.

And McLindon or Katter asserting that there has been one, does not make it so.
A merger implies a willing combination of two entities. This did not happen. In fact prior to the defection of McLindon, there was no properly constituted meeting of even the Executive to ratify such a decision, let alone the Special Convention which would have included all candidates, as required by TQP's Constitution.

Secondly, Katter did NOT inherit all the candidates.

Some, like me, have never been interested in being in his party. At last count that is 5 of us. A few others were rejected when it became obvious that their stance was more moderate than Katter wanted, despite initial assurances from McLindon and the Party's former Secretary Bernie Gaynor. Two others have been pushed aside for Katter’s favourite.
Others thought they had no option, went along with it, and think it will look 'weak' and confusing if they change back to TQP after stating they were going with KAP. Others still will have issues I believe, as they have been preselected for KAP without Katter being aware of their pro-choice and pro-gay marriage stance.
However, one thing you are right about; the defection of McLindon, but more particularly the expulsion/resignation of former Secretary, Gaynor, will leave the Qld Party much more able to represent people who are:
• Disenchanted with Bligh (can there be anyone left who thinks they’ve done a great job?)
• Concerned about environmental issues such as Coal Seam Gas
• Keen to have a thriving economy, but not at ALL costs.
• Deeply concerned for the level of bureaucracy in our lives, particularly where it involves waste of taxes, barriers to business, and impediments to a rational enjoyment of our Australian way of life.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, seeking a strong true voice of the people in each electorate, not beholden to an autocratic party leader.

The Qld Party pledges all this and more

@pelican, Friday, 16 September 2011 8:52:55 AM

Your Statement..." in loosening gun ownership legislation. That last point will lose them votes even on the Right I reckon. Howard's gun reform was greeted warmly overall with little opposition"... clearly shows that you did not live in a Rural area when the "reform" occurred.

The Gun Laws were warmly greeted in those Areas now inhabited by the Lattee Sippers. They were detested outside the Major Cities Areas.

Katter will gain votes from this Policy. He won't lose any because The Warm and Fuzzies are not going to support him , whatever he does.

This article is unresearched and extremely pro-katter. Talking about the Queensland Party as if it doesn't exist anymore is misleading. I've noticed somebody making similar changes to the Queensland Party wikipedia page to try and drive away interest. Aidan McLindon stole the party website when he ran away to join Bob Katter. This was after he pledged to the executive that he wouldn't leave the party prior to the election. Its no secret that he is stalling as much as possible in returning this TQP property in the knowledge that they only have until later this month to reach a membership level of 500. Most new members are found via the website which he now controls. The new address is now.

http://www.queenslandparty.org.au

I hope the queensland party survives this wanton vandalism by Aidan McLindon and his cohorts. I dread to think what Queensland will become with devious backstabbing underhanded criminals like Aidan and Bob Katter holding the balance of power.

Sadly the remnants of the Qld party are already doing what the LNP are famous for, attacking those who are supposed to be on the same side and giving the ALP a free run. Congrats WendyJ and Co, you will bury your own party as the LNP have in Far Nth Qld every time they waste a fortune in election propaganda trying to unseat Bob Katter, who currently holds about 80% of the vote in his electorate...why? Because he is what the voters want and support, he represents his electorate and we appreciate it. Go Bob Go! Amazing all the negativity, one would think that the state and nation is in great condition, face reality and accept that neither side appears interested in doing much that is different, all have policy dictated by the corporate sector and overseas interests and accept election donations that confirm that stance. Time Australians woke up that we're slipping down a very steep cliff and lack the leadership or guts in our present pollies to change or fix any of it. Bob Katter is and has proven himself more than capable as a Minister and member of both state and fed governments. He is attracting a very credible group of capable candidates and I wish them all the best for having the guts to give it a go and change the mess the country is in.
Time for voters to ask themselves if their current pollie has what it takes and have the courage to make your vote really work for a change...at this point you have nothing to lose and a better option on offer.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=12621#218099

KaliG, spot on Katter is the centrist moderate here, the RED/green, getup, GAYLP/alp, Socialist Alliance was taken over by closet communists decades ago.

The LNP deserted small business & farmers in favour of foriegn owned multinationals & international banksters.

And these idiots lay in bed at night wondering why long suffering aussie voters are deserting them in droves.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=12621#218101

pelican, i said it before, will do so again, you can try to claim centrist ground as much as you like, you either support closet communist policies like gun laws or you don't.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=12621#218106

Ruth, you are a fool, more minor parties will be merging with Bob Katter soon. There are at least a dozen centrist minor parties with almost identical policies out there, merging them together against the major mistakes is the only hope Australia's children have.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=12621#218110

KalG, correct again.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=12621#218111

Wendy J, the policies you outline have more in common with the LNP, join them, the last thing conservative politics needs is closet communists & perverted, social liberals.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=12621#218131

Aspley, also correct.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb_qHP7VaZE i suggest all of you watch this video, several times.

All policy falls into 2 broad areas, social (what type of society you want) & economic (what type of economy you want).

The LNP is both socially & economically "liberal" in that they are socially, pro choice on abortion, GLBT lifestyle & economically liberal as well in that they are pro globalised, free trade.

The country party used to be both socially & economically conservative/traditionalist in that they were pro life, straight & in favour of "protectionist" economic policy. it worked.

This is where most of the baby boomers are now, including those from a blue collar working class background, they look at the closet communist, university educated latte sippers with disgust.

Ignore social & economic conservatism at your peril.

Formersnag - the reason I chose to stay with TQP is that each elected candidate is duty bound to serve his electorate, even if at times it runs against the Party position. I think that we are in deep trouble in this country because alot of elected members stick with the party position, despite what their electorates may want on major issues.

Katter's Party is a federal based party, so no doubt will be subject to federal politics. A State based party which puts Queenslanders first is likely to be in a better position to ensure that any laws that are passed in the ACT are not injurious to Queenslanders.

Former TQP members have shown that they can ignore the constitution of their party to their own desires. If they ignore the constitution of the party, do you think these same people will heed the Queensland constitution?

As well, I am of the view that parties built around personalities like Katter (as endearing as he can be at times) are inherently weak and doomed to fail.

Ordinary people are just so sick of politicians who say one thing and do quite another.

Whilst I don't think I could possibly change your mind about whether or not I am indeed a fool, I hope that gentle readers understand why I made the decision to stick with The Queensland Party, come what may. I would not think sticking to principle made one a fool. I would think that not doing same would earn said fool that title.

Wow, way to go with ripping up Katter. Love your policies. No idea who you are.

Katter has me, because i know who he is, he speaks the same language as me and a lot of other Austalians, and he seems to be familiar in as much as we all know someone like him, unlike the yuppy scum infesting the lawmaking process these days.

Hoping he scoops up more disillusioned but impassioned Australians to help fight control back for the Australians.

Clearly the QLD party wont merge, sad that. Btw, I'm in QLD and know not who you are. Your PR might need tweaking.

CSG you say? Rally Sunday in Sydney. Dont think you should be rallying troops? Great networking op dont you think?

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=128983783863341

Yeehaw, split that vote!

Personally, I can't wait for a Katter parliament. I have been told by Formersnag, that I would be fronting an inquiry into un-Australian activities if it ever did happen. I think that sounds like a lot of fun.

I wonder if they'll tell me I don't go to the beach enough so I must be a closet communist.

Matt. Seriously? Bob Katter is an underhanded criminal? You lose all credibility.

As i mentioned, i have no idea who the Queensland Party is and that isnt Bob Katters fault, its the Queensland Partys Fault. Sheesh.

So who in the QLD PArty thinks its a good idea to show up at least in part to support Sydneysiders in their fight against CSG? Anyone?

*The LNP is both socially & economically "liberal" in that they are socially, pro choice on abortion, GLBT lifestyle & economically liberal as well in that they are pro globalised, free trade.*

Exactly, Formersnag. The world has moved on, even if a few old farts
and rednecks arn't aware of it or are too old to change.

Well sorry, but even in country areas young people have moved on,
are more tolerant and a little bit more educated then some of you.

Ignore a changing world at your peril. It sounds to me like your
ideal political animal would have been a cross between Pauline Hanson
and old Joh. That animal is dead, bar a few old souls who can't let
go of the past.

Today's generation are pro choice, something like 80% of Australians
are even pro voluntary euthanasia!

But I'd suggest that you are too old and set in your ways to change
now. Fair enough, the real world will pass you by.

Rather then in the centre politically, you'd be more like the US tea party/
religious right. Thats really the extreme right.

Personally,

I'm for the Western Australian Revolutionary Party...but I doubt that will catch on in Queensland!

Hi Eli,
I attended the Roma meeting and spoke to a fair few affected farmers, and the contest between the rights of the State and the surface rights of the landholder is only one of a few hurdles.

Phil Matimein, haha ..I love it.

There are enough loose units up here for it to catch on.

I don't think Queensland will ever recover from the southern invasion which outbred any common sense there was. Goss started the work on the road to disaster & Bligh is busy placing road signs pointing in the wrong direction.

Pelican wrote:

>>That first post is a classic. It looks like it is not politically correct to label anyone Far Right but open slather on Centrists or the Centre/Left (even sometimes the Centre/Right) as kaliG then ignores his own advice and puts the boot in.>>

Agreed.

But what exactly is a "far right" party?

For that matter, what does "far left" mean?

I'm not even sure what "right" and "left" means anymore let alone "far right" and "far left."

The differences, if any, seem to me to be mainly rhetorical and a question of atmospherics.

In what MATERIAL sense is Gillard on the "left."

In what MATERIAL sense was Howard on the "right."

stevenlmeyer,
I look at it as right is right & left is wrong or sense vs nonsense.

To illustrate what I mean by far right and far left is this simple picture:
Far left is SOCIALISM which is a pink version of Communism.
A totalitarian single party state. (I have lived under one)
No human rights or freedom! A police State.
In her early years Gillard was member of the Communist Party.
Far Right is like Singapore have, that is the rule to live by is totally what benefits and is good for the State and its people.
Look how well the average Singaporean lives, compared to the average aussie.
As for Howard he was just right of the center.
The notion of democracy is a state of chaos.
Because each party has to "buy" votes they have to prostitute their true core values, so as to appeal to a wide voter base.

The Katter party is deliberately representing middle Australia, it is interested in delivering a moderate common sense agenda, growing economy, full employment with reasonable distribution, the others are suporting a free market system which has failed.

Katter is both left and right theoetically,as most of us are, right or left are irrelivant today.

Nev

"pelican, i said it before, will do so again, you can try to claim centrist ground as much as you like, you either support closet communist policies like gun laws or you don't."

Formersnag
You are being non-sensical again. Gun laws have nothing to do with Communism-I don't know what sort of books you have been reading. If you cannot see the damage unfettered gun laws have done in the US then you are the blind one. It is possible to agree or disagree with gun laws from either the Left and Right. It is an issue that is more than about ideolgical libertarianism. Just because you accuse someone of closet communist policies like gun laws does not make it true. In fact it is more likely to make it emotively innacurate as your deeply held prejudices and biase clearly indicate.

stevenmeyer
My point is that there is too much focus of late on Left/Right when the reality is there is very little to distinguish the major parties on those traditional ideological lines. Both LNP and ALP in Australia agree on some basic socially democratic principles such as universal health care, education etc while both are also hellbent on privatising some services that have traditionally been owned by 'the people'.

The LNP are good at pushing their 'liberal' and reduced government intervention side but in reality Howard dealt out more in middle class and corporate welfare than every seen previously. The ALP have continued in this fashion with both major parties competing in the pork barrelling stakes.

While a few ignoramouses are focussed on Left/Right politics and imagining all sorts of demons and fantasies many important aspects of governing are being all but lost in the noise

Nev
I agree, Katter is appealing to many people of differing voting allegiances, not only to the traditional Right wing. He is the only politician willing to raise the issue of free trade and the negative effects on domestic economies on the furphy of economic development. He is also in sync with groups like GetUp as far as the Coal Seam Gas debate including rights of property owners. Interesting bedfellows on some fronts.

Katter's Party will no doubt build a following as will the Queensland Party. The only element that will put a damper on the move to the KAP is Katter himself. If the allegations about the merger of the two parties is accurate are we just seeing another corrupt politician who is not willing to listen to all views. Katter is also playing the libertarian card but unwilling to support the rights for same-sex marriage.

pelican, there is not enough room for both Katter and The Queensland party, Katter can do it, the Queensland Party can not, It looks like they are very similar anyway, I'm not sure what the noise is about, if the rules of law have been broken then the QP have to do the job, if not they should get on board with Katters mob and help make the changes needed for their commumities....nev

Pelican

I agree.

Ideologically there is little that divides the two major parties.

Most politics today is not even theatre, it's comic opera. There's little of substance. It owes more to Gilbert and Sullivan than Marx and Adam Smith.

Now who will be Gillard's lord high executioner?

Who will be Abbott's?

Zach Hancock is an advisor to the Coalition.It is in his interests to paint Katter as extreme right.Whenever an new party enters the fray,both the Coalition and labor gang up to eliminate them under bogus claims of extremism.

Both labor and the Coalition are controlled by large corp interests.We do not live in a democracy as witnessed by Gillards' intro of a carbon tax."There will be no carbon tax under a Govt I lead."

We need a new party not controlled by the money of large corp interests.

True Arjay.

In the case of the coalition they will adopt the 'extreme' policies of the new entity if it is successful in order to neuter it - ala Hanson. While Labor attempts to out do Howard in the 'mean and tricky' and 'lying rodent' stakes. I never thought it was possible but the proof is in.

It is time for a political party to represent the people rather than the unions, the business lobby, the religious right and themselves.

Even as we speak Ruddock is trying to stave off an attempt by the radical religious right within his party to take over his seat when he retires.

The only consolation is that the relevance of Labor and Liberal is diminishing as they adopt and out do each others stupid policies.

"Now who will be Gillard's lord high executioner?" The faceless men of course.

"Who will be Abbott's?" Eventually he will do or say something apart from "NO" or "A GREAT BIG wotever" and jam both his feet in his mouth again.

Meg,
You are spot on. A very intelligent posting and I thank you for it.
The TQP should support Katter rather than crying foul.
If they had any gumption they should join completely and back Katter.
Keep up the fight.
KaliG

I like the way G.K. Chesterton put it 90 years ago:

>>The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected.>>

We need a new party not controlled by the money of large corp interests.
Arjay,
Agree, but don't forget for a moment the public service's part in this wanting a slice of the money cake provided not only by the corporations but by the taxpayer as well. It's a real double-dipping there.