Katter is an
agrarian socialist and
socially conservative. Like his father, his views on economic matters echo 1950s "
Old Labor" policy as it was before the
1955 Labor Party split. He opposes
privatisation and economic
deregulation, and strongly supports traditional Country Party statutory marketing. In 1994, he cited his political heroes as ALP figures
Jack Lang and
Ted Theodore and U.S. president
Franklin D. Roosevelt, but said Lang was ultimately a failure and he was "aiming to be a
John McEwen". The sobriquet 'Mad Katter' (in reference to the character from Lewis Carroll's ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'') was coined by his opponents to describe his nationalistic
developmentalism. As of 2020, Katter described himself as belonging to the "hard left", In a 2022 interview with
The Chaser, Katter claimed that he had never pledged allegiance to the
Queen of Australia when entering parliament.
Abortion In 1980, Katter seconded a motion by
Don Lane calling on the Queensland state government to "protect the lives of unborn Queensland children being killed by abortion". In 2006, Katter voted against a federal bill which would increase the availability of
abortion drugs.
Environment Katter has opposed enacting
climate change legislation to
control emissions. He advocates for measures that reduce
carbon footprints. Katter has championed the mandating of
ethanol fuel content. He has additionally pioneered protests against imported bananas, and is an opponent of the concentration of the Australian
supermarket industry amongst
Coles and
Woolworths. Katter is a vocal advocate of stronger
wildlife management, frequently highlighting the dangers posed by
feral dogs,
venomous snakes, and
crocodiles to residents and tourists in
Northern Queensland. Katter has expressed alarm over the rising population of
saltwater crocodiles in Northern Queensland, which have made
swimming and other recreational activities in or around natural bodies of water increasingly unsafe. Katter has strongly criticized the
conservation policies of the Australian government, stating that "our lives are in danger because of protected wildlife" and has called for the protected status of saltwater crocodiles, and with it the ban on
hunting the species, to be revoked. According to Katter, "a law that puts the value of a crocodile over a human being, that is the definition of evil".
Gun laws An opponent of the tougher gun control laws introduced in the wake of the
1996 massacre in
Port Arthur, Tasmania, Katter was accused in 2001 of signing a petition promoted by the
Citizens Electoral Council (CEC), an organisation that claims the
Port Arthur massacre was a conspiracy. He has stated that he always has and still believes there was no conspiracy.
2016 campaign advertisement In June 2016 during the lead-up to the
2016 federal election, Katter released a
campaign ad that was criticised for its threatening overtones and its casual attitude towards
gun violence. Set in the Australian bush, the ad features two men, their faces disguised by
pantyhose and dressed in shirts labeled '
ALP' and '
LNP', pitching a sign reading "Australia for sale". Katter himself appears and takes it down, but the men return and put it back up. Katter, wearing a
cowboy hat, defaces their sign with
permanent marker so that it read, "Australia not for sale." Their back and forth ends with a close up shot of Katter brandishing a revolver, blowing smoke from the gun barrel and smiling, before the camera zooms out, revealing the two men from earlier, dead. Although Katter said that he believed "most people would enjoy the humor" and that it was "terribly funny", Queensland senator
Barry O'Sullivan called the ad "abhorrent", while Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull said that it was "in the worst of taste". Journalist
David Koch criticised the advert for its timing, having been released just days after the
Pulse Nightclub shooting in
Orlando, Florida.
Bondi Beach shooting In the wake of the
2025 Bondi Beach Shooting, Katter stated that the government response should focus on
immigration and intelligence policy rather than
gun control. Katter argued that further restrictions on gun ownership would fail to reduce
gun violence and would ultimately be counter-productive, comparing them to
Victorian era "sex bans". He has opposed the
Albanese government's reforms for stricter gun laws in response to the shooting, including its
national gun buyback program.
Immigration In 2017, Katter called for a "
Trump-like travel ban" in Australia after a New South Welshman was arrested on terrorism charges. That same year, Katter repeated a pledge used by the far-right organisation "
Proud Boys", including that he was "a proud western chauvinist". When asked about the incident when it was publicised in 2019, Katter distanced himself from the group, saying "I don't know who this group is or anything about it". Katter has supported and attended the
2025 March for Australia protests, calling for lowered immigration rates and immigration only from countries with democratic, egalitarian traditions and Christianity. In August 2025, he called a press conference in support of the rallies. When questioned by a reporter about his own Lebanese heritage, Katter threatened him and waved a fist in front of his face, telling him: "don't say that, because that irritates me, and I punch
blokes in the mouth for saying that", and that his family has "been in this country since the dawn of time." However, months later in January 2026, Katter acknowledged his Lebanese heritage, stating that "my forbearers came from that area, because they wanted to get out of there". In regards to his previous statements on immigrants from the
Middle East, Katter also recognized that "there are exceptions to the rule, no doubt".
Indigenous Australians In 1987, as Queensland minister for Aboriginal and Islander affairs, Katter credited the state government with reducing
Aboriginal deaths in custody by introducing "new detention procedures to divert people arrested for minor offences away from traditional custody after a three-hour cooling off period". In 1989, he opposed installing condom vending machines in
Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander communities to reduce the spread of
AIDS, describing the plan instead as an attempt at
eugenics, or "racist genocide". Katter is also an opponent of
voter identification laws, denouncing the Coalition's proposed introduction of them in 2021 as a racist system that would disenfranchise Aboriginal communities. In 2022, he announced that he would not support an
Indigenous Voice to Parliament proposal, but did believe that the indigenous people of Australia deserved a referendum on how they should be represented in parliament.
North Queensland statehood Katter supports
North Queensland statehood.
LGBT rights In November 1989, Katter claimed there were almost no homosexuals in North Queensland. He promised to walk backwards from
Bourke across his electorate if they represented more than 0.001 percent of the population. Katter also said "
mind you, if there are more, then I might take to walking backwards everywhere!" Katter voted against the , which decriminalised homosexuality in
Tasmania. He does not support
same-sex marriage. His response to the
Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey result was the subject of international attention, as in response he declared that the issue of crocodiles killing people in North Queensland every three months was more pressing than same-sex marriage. Therefore he declared that "I ain't spending any time on it!" on the latter issue. In December 2017, Katter was one of only four members of the House of Representatives to oppose the
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 legalising same-sex marriage in Australia. ==Personal life==