‘You lily pad leftie!’: Bob Katter unleashes on journalists during press conference
Bob Katter has unleashed on journalists during a press conference about the Closing the Gap report.
The founder of the Katter’s Australian Party was loosely asked about whether he would vote in favour of a First Nations Voice to Parliament if it were to make it into the Chamber.
The 12th Closing the Gap report shows Aboriginal children still trail far behind non-indigenous children in literacy, numeracy and writing skills.
The report also shows the country is on track to meet just two of seven government targets to reduce the disparity in health, education and employment outcomes.
#WATCH: Federal MP Bob Katter has vented his anger over a ‘Voice to Parliament’ proposal in an animated press conference in Canberra. #9News pic.twitter.com/ic6vKw1tq8
— Nine News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) February 12, 2020
Mr Katter’s team have said that his “aggressive response to the question should not be interpreted as anything other than passion.”
He says he is fighting for his “black fella” friends. (See full statement below)
Full statement:
“These are my friends. These are my blokes I played football with and against.
“These are the blokes I’ve mustered cattle with. These are the blokes I have worked in the mines with.
“These are my people and I was their minister for the better part of a decade.
“I had to get the most radical legislation out of what was supposed to be the most conservative government in history and it was a cakewalk. And it was so easy to do.
“All you had to do was go out into the communities and ask what needed to be done! That was all you had to do and the government still won’t do it.
“Instead they are running around listening to people who aren’t black fellas in every sense of the word – they might have a black fella grandfather, but they are not black fellas – and these people are telling them it “might” be a good thing to do!
“And it in actual fact might be good thing to do – but I don’t know because I’m too busy trying to save my people from dying from malnutrition now, not what might happen in another decade!”