The Australian Party was launched by Bob Katter on the 5th of June 2011 (http://www.ausparty.org.au/news/latest-updates/view/21/bob-katter-launches-the-australian-party-to-take-on-the-big-boys). He has won support for the action from Pauline Hanson (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/pauline-hanson-votes-for-bob-katters-new-party/story-fn59niix-1226069746463#) and has also been described by Noel Pearson as being the best Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs we "never had" (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/commentary/hats-off-to-katters-grand-plan/story-e6frgd0x-1226051430675}.

The Major Parties are trying their very best to ignore it (hoping it'll go away - yeah, that approach worked with "One Nation" didn't it?), however, Bob Katter Jr is a man to be reckoned with - ESPECIALLY in Queensland. From what I've heard already, the list of possible candidates contains people who have been busy with helping Indigenous Communities & People to help themselves as well as people who are well-known for their support for local jobs, agriculture and the rest. If "One Natoin" appealed to those disaffected with both the Labor and National Parties, how much more so would Mr Katter? He has been absolutely solid in his support for people from both ends of the spectrum and also from the so-called "battlers" from the dead-center.

Beneath that hat there is an exceptional Politician, one of very, very few. The QLD National Party has essentially given its self up to the Liberals (so there are a LOT of disaffected National Supporters), while conditions on Aboriginal Communities (and relations with Police) under the QLD ALP is rapidly outstripping that from the dark days of Sir Johannes Bjelke-Peterson KCMG. So the number of disaffected voters would have to be at an all time high.

We can either assist the major parties to stifle this debate, or we can debate it ourselves. Personally I hope Mr Bob Katter Jr (MP) is successful, at least he can say something other than "NO" which makes him a better choice than Bob Brown.

It is full of nothing.
No promise no hope no future

Bob Katter has a Lee-Enfield Service Rifle on the wall of his office.
There's a hell of a lot of gun owners' votes out there as well.

It will all depend on final policies. So far all that has been reported about the Australian Party are five very general and vague policy ideas - a couple which sound good in principle but no detail to make informed decisions. Policies are also about the HOW not only the WHAT.

Katter's biggest mistake is branding the new party with his name - Katter's Australian Party seems a bit conceited and his personality will not win him (his party) too many votes outside of QLD.

I wonder if the Shooters/Fishers party will amalgamate with the Australian Party. It would seem logical rather than spreading the potential voter base a bit thin. Is Mise having a gun on the office wall will be as much a deterrent given Australia is not like the US on gun ownership and we have a much lower crime rate, certainly in relation to gun crime.

Much will also depend on the quality of the candidates. I suspect Katter's support in QLD will win a few disaffected voters in other rural QLD electorates particularly in the North.

The Coalition would be silly to ignore the effect of tensions between the Nationals and Liberals particularly in QLD. From memory, I think there are also two independent National members in WA.

I have always liked Katter, he always calls a spade a spade, & often talks sense.

However one of the first things he started pushing was ethanol for transport fuel.

All the research I have done is showing it takes more fossil energy to produce a liter of ethanol than the energy available from that ethanol. When you add the fact that it takes a large tax payer subsidy to make the production viable, there's not much left to recommend ethanol.

He will have to explain his reasons much better, or just look like another smarty.

It would appear the only thing you can get from ethanol is the cane farmers vote.

This leaves me wondering. Is Katter lazy, & has not kept abreast with the facts? Is he dumb, & doesn't understand, or is he just another politician, prepared to use the global warming con, to try to buy votes? None of the above possibilities make him too attractive to me these days.

He will have to explain his reasoning much better, or look like just another smarty.

'Shoot-em-up' Katter will only ever secure the votes from a few gun-happy rednecks in some rural areas of Australia,
and certainly never enough support from the bulk of intelligent Australians.