It is no surprise to me that bob Katter is string up some interest with his heart on sleeve approach to politics.

It is no secret that I dislike the labor government, both state and federal, but my real concern now is the bob will split the conservative vote and hand a default victory to labor.

Interesting times ahead.

Bob Katter will take more votes from the Labor Party than those from the Coalition.Many Labor voters are looking for alternatives and if Bob plays his cards right he could set in train the demise of Labor.

From my viewpoint it looks more like a pigeon amongst the cats.

Arjay we can only hope!

Big Hat, no cattle. He's the last of the hillbilly politicians from Queensland. Good gracious me, don't you worry about that!

...I think its the heat "what" does it Rainier...Great for growing peanuts!

On the face of it this new party does offer some new alternatives especially about the proportion of foreign ownership and free trade issues, but on closer inspection I cannot see many Labor voters or Liberal voters being swayed.

The biggest thing against the party is Katter himself. IMO Katter is not a viable or coherent leader capable of communicating the policies in any meaningful way. Katter might be colourful and I like the fact he raises issues that other politicians ignore (due primarily to a narrowly defined neo-liberal agenda), however how will he put those policies into action?

There is already some concerns over the placing of Luke Shaw as campaign director and his involvement in the jury that saw Joh Bjelke Petersen released for perjury. No matter what side of politics one sits, there is questions to answer on this matter alone.

What Australia does not need is just another spin party who remains closed to any scrutiny or who fails to meet the desire for greater accountability.

The gun ownership aspect will turn a lot of people off (more than get turned on) and the failure to support greater stewardship of the environment. The attitude is akin to lemmings over the cliff, the tendency to view anything 'environmental' as Reds under the Beds. This makes them ill equipped and too narrowly focussed to deal with modern problems of overpopulation and resource depletion etc.

What about collective interests such as health care, education or law enforcement. Will this party privatise everything or recognise that there is merit in a mix of collective and individual rights.

So far the AP are unknown.

Any party led by 'shoot-em-up' Bob will not lure many people away from the major parties.
Most Australians are far too intelligent to choose such a gun-loving hill-billy, whether there are pigeons around or not :)

While he may be seen as a bit of a nutter, I can assure you that he is raising some eyebrows.

It is rare for a Polly to just answer a question, let alone back it up with facts.

2012 will be a very interesting year in qld politics.

Most Australians are far too intelligent to choose such a gun-loving hill-billy,
suzeoline,
how do explain the Labor voters then for supporting mismanagement ?

Individual, I would suggest all political parties would support mismanagement if it suited them!
Personally, I can't see much difference between the management policies of both major parties really.

suzeonline,
Im sorry but if you can't see now then how on earth will you make up your mind at the next election ? I can very clearly see that Coalition Governments have always had more competence than Labor. I'd have thought it almost traditional.

You're right there Individual.

A politician who answers questions is either a pigeon, or a turkey, ripe for the plucking.

Bet they're going through all the old sound bites, to come up with some unguarded statement, that meant little, but can be mad to look really bad.

Guess who "they" are.

Hasbeen
The media is also responsible with the prevailing 'catch-you-out' mentality such as much ado about nothing Abbott comment in Afghanistan. Totally uncalled for and an unfair interpretation of what Mr Abbott intended.

However, Katter does not need any help from the media. While I disagree with many of Katter and Joyce's other policies I am pleased they, with the Greens, are standing up for farmers in the Liverpool Plains on the gas fraccing issue and in relation to entry onto properties.

While I would never vote for Joyce or Katter, I was disappointed even if not surprised, to see them both at the Same Sex Marriage lynching mob the other day. I am surprised that Katter with all his bluster about liberty and rights does not confer those rights to others including SS couples.

It fair put me off him but at least in one aspect, the public knows what he is about and you can either vote for or against him. I vote No but I can see his attraction in Northern QLD where agriculture forms a large part of the picutre