Oh JR... how could I have overlooked that master stroke of ALP tomfoolery, the Final Solution of Gillard to burden our poverty struck neighbour with the flotsom-jetsom of the global refugee industry?

What will she come up with next in an attempt to buy off the three wise men I wonder, given that it appears caucus/cabinet has empowered her to 'keep on being the real Julia'.

Gillard is so beholden to her parents for instilling her Atheist-Baptist values that I fully expect them both to be drawn in to become official Lodge advisors to 'the real Julia'.

Seems they taught her about the evils of same sex marriages, but not of 'living in sin'.

It must have been a household of very selective Baptist values then... how odd, I thought they were very much 'all or nothing' people.

Dear JR,

I actually don't know that much about Katter having
seen him only briefly alongside Windsor and
Oakeshott. However, the three of them seemed
to be a refreshing change from pollies like
Barnaby Joyce and Kroger whose combined behaviour left
a lot to be desired on the night of the Election.

As I pointed out in my earlier post - its probably
wishful thinking on my part that Party politics will
play a lesser role in Government.

But I can live and hope.

While Katter is certainly an 'interesting' politician, there's more than a few roos loose in his top paddock. His racism and homophobia are well-documented, as is his AGW denialism.

Suze, if Katter does indeed have guns hanging up on walls in his house, including in his kids' bedrooms for defensive purposes, he's not only demonstrably paranoid but also breaking the law.

The other Independents seem to be quite reasonable, but Katter's a loose cannon of the worst kind.

Foxy... Katter is Katter. What you see, is what you get.... the little ticket he normally wears on his hat, with '10/6d' stamped on it, seems to have fallen off in these days of media spotlight.

He does have the singular distinction of understanding how corrupt the Nationals were/are, and resigning from them, having served with 'reasonable' distinction as a Minister in the era of gross corruption under Joh....I hasten to add, there never was, nor should there ever be, any whiff of corruption concerning Katter during that sad and pathetic era.

Whatever else people may think of him, there is no doubt that he is honest... a rare commodity amongst politicians.

The remnants of the Nats, including the man from St George, described quite accurately by Windsor as 'a fool', fear Katter, and those like him from the agrarian-socialist arm of the old Nats, or in fact, the old Country Party.

Their hero, Black Jack, wouldn't bother to relieve himself on any of them, least of all St. George, if they were on fire, having strayed so far from the agrarian-socialist dreams he had for the nation.

The Qld Country Party of then, was very similar to the Qld ALP of then, who introduced such 'evil' socialist schemes to build the widespread community into a cohesive unit that the ALP of today looks far more like a Pinochet style form of pro-USA capitalism than it does a 'social democrat' party.... only the lack of torture marks the difference.

He is, however, best left to his own devices as a loud lobbyist, rather than a prime decision maker. His penchant for guns can probably be ignored... as part of his 'schtik' (if that is how its spelt?).

suzeonline, "While carrying on about the wonders of country life, he goes on to say that apart from the many guns lining the walls of his living areas, he also keeps a gun in each of the children's bedrooms, just in case they should ever need to defend themselves when he is away!"

I did not see the interview, but commonsense alone should inform us that if indeed Bob Katter said anything like that it would be a facetious remark. Australia has some of the world's most restrictive regulations. Even joking like that is to risk a very dangerous unannounced visit from a Queensland Police Special Emergency Response Team (SERT).

http://www.police.qld.gov.au/Resources/Internet/join/documents/LR_SERT_160709.pdf

Seriously, are you sure that is what he said? Queensland is the Nanny State where Anna Bligh's police are presently proposing even more restrictive regulations and penalties, for instance a $4000 fine for anything that resembles a gun: toys, wood labelled 'this is not a real gun' and even guns modelled in soap by a kid in a bath. Such 'dangerous' models will have to be registered and kept in firearms safes, otherwise the full weight of the firearms laws and a $4000 fine will apply.

Lonely Planet will have to carry a warning about the hysteria that is rife in Australia. Actually, that is very close to the truth because in Queensland you can be arrested for the possession of a Swiss Army knife. Possession of this handy tool of choice of backpackers becomes another way to harass youth for some sport, or an arrest to get the numbers up.

I have a feeling we can breathe easy and Bob Katter isn't maintaining an arsenal displayed on the walls of his house.

Bob loves guns more than his kids:

"Five things you didn't know about the Mad Hatter

The parliamentary football team hasn’t been the same since Bob pulled a hammy.

Bob refuses to drink his tea in anything but a metal mug – even in parliament. He drinks his tea with condensed milk and must always have orange cream biscuits.

Bob and his wife Susie have two dogs. One is a beautiful English pointer, full of class and distinction, just like Mrs Katter, the other is a mongrel blue heeler stray called Jack that turned up one day and never left.

Hat of choice: Akubra. Is there any other? Bob replaces his Akubras but could never bring himself to throw one out.

When Bob had one of his guns taken off him his children noted he loved that gun more than them and more than their mother. But when they said he loved his guns more than his favourite dog, he told them they’d gone too far."

http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2010/08/24/123711_local-news.html

But maybe, he keeps his arsenal locked away from prying eyes. - Just a thought.