Katter regrets allowing homophobic ads

20 May 2012, 5:31 pm   -   Source: AAP

Colourful Queensland MP Bob Katter has told a Sydney audience he will regret his party's homophobic ads for the rest of his life..

Maverick federal MP Bob Katter has told an audience with former prime minister Kevin Rudd he will regret homophobic advertisements aired by his party "for the rest of my days".

Katter's Australia Party's ads, featuring a pixilated black and white image of an older gay man with a young lover, went to air during the Queensland election campaign in March.

The party's founder, who holds the vast far north Queensland federal electorate of Kennedy, admitted the ads were a political mistake but later angrily refused to answer questions on gay marriage.

Sharing a stage with his fellow Queenslander at the Sydney Writers Festival, Mr Rudd denounced the ads.

"The campaign about sexuality wasn't exactly about same sex marriage. It was a fair bit rougher than that," he said during a forum to explore Mr Katter's book An Incredible Race of People.

Mr Katter said the ads were a "simple example of insensitivity" and a "crowning glory of all mistakes".

"This was a political mistake of major proportions," he said.

"I let the ad go and I suppose in that sense that will be one of the regrets I'll carry for the rest of my days."

But Mr Katter became testy when a woman in the audience asked about gay marriage.

"Lady, I love your question," he said.

"I'm really not going to take any more questions on it because I'm very short-tempered."

Mr Katter said that in nearly four decades as a state and federal MP, only one constituent had raised the issue of gay marriage, compared with "maybe ten thousand" who were concerned about diseased flying foxes.

"You are preoccupied with some little thing that comes in from America," he said, provoking the loudest boos from the audience.

Earlier, Mr Rudd reminded Mr Katter of his old pledge to walk backwards from north Queensland to Bourke or Brisbane if there were homosexuals in his electorate.

"You're in Sydney now," he said, sparking laughter.

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