Katters take the fight to One Nation

Katter's Australian Party has thrown down the gauntlet to One Nation as they call for election candidates for the upcoming Queensland election.

Katter's Australian Party has thrown down the gauntlet to Pauline Hanson as they put out a call for candidates ahead of the next Queensland election.

KAP's main opponents are no longer either the Labor or Liberal National Parties, but Ms Hanson's resurgent One Nation, which is being touted as boasting 16 per cent of voter support.

One Nation powerbrokers hope to field candidates in around 60 Queensland electorates at the upcoming poll, due by early 2018, with many of the areas being targeted also of interest to the KAP.

In a release topped with a photoshopped image of Bob Katter on a horse wearing knight's armour and a crown instead of his trademark akubra, and flanked by state MPs Rob Katter and Shane Knuth, the party is calling for "fair go advocates" to stand up for everyday Queenslanders.

While not mentioning One Nation, Mt Isa MP Rob Katter claimed Katter's Australian Party is the only party "truly fighting for rural and regional Queensland".

""It seems like every man and his dog are out to claim west of the divide but no one has actually put any real solutions forward," Mr Katter said.

One Nation's popularity is worrying all the major parties, with Ms Hanson's party previously winning 11 seats at the 1998 state election, taking six of those from Labor and the other five from the then-separate Liberal and National parties.

The party also attracts anti-establishment and rural voters, which have significant overlap with the KAP.

Katter's Australian Party currently holds the balance of power in Queensland's hung parliament, and Mr Katter said that's allowed them to get a lot done.

"We have managed to introduce and pass legislation to secure the Queensland sugar industry, push and achieve a mandate on ethanol, establish a taskforce into rural debt and drought, introduce legislation to help the dairy industry grow and a bill to establish a regional reconstruction board," Mr Katter said.


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Source: AAP



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