LNP volunteer left ‘trembling’ after run in with Bob Katter, as KAP patriarch accused of bullying

Katter’s Australian Party patriarch Bob Katter has been accused of bullying while on the state election hustings, including an incident at an early voting centre that left one LNP volunteer “trembling”.

Katter’s Australian Party patriarch Bob Katter has been accused of bullying while on the state election hustings, including an incident at an early voting centre that left one LNP volunteer “trembling”.

But Mr Katter laughed off the allegations as he ditched federal parliamentary duties to head out on a central Queensland “coal tour” in mining communities, including Clermont and Moranbah.

Townsville-based Queensland senator Susan McDonald has slammed Mr Katter’s alleged “bullying” of LNP volunteers at early voting centres as “unacceptable”.

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According to the volunteer, who didn’t want to be named, Mr Katter “badgered” and threatened to sue her when he arrived at the main early voting centre in Townsville on Monday afternoon.

It’s understood Mr Katter had referred to the KAP’s defam­ation proceedings against Senator Matt Canavan.

“I’ve handed out on booths for years and you do see some back-and-forth among the different parties’ volunteers, but for the most part it’s good natured,” the volunteer said.

“However, I’ve never been in a situation like what Bob put me in.”

Bob Katter.

It comes after another incident on the weekend when Mr Katter attended a market and fired up at LNP members, including candidates, at their booth.

Mr Katter, in a statement, said it was “funny” to refer to the weekend incident as bullying, claiming he was just asking a question about deregulation of industries including maize, sugar, tobacco and dairy.

“I was just asking a question and they interpreted that as being aggressive,” he said.

“If you want to see aggression, then you should have seen me at the back of some bush pubs in the old days.”

The Kennedy MP said his coal tour was “infinitely more important” than being in Canberra for a sitting week, particularly as the KAP has a “real chance” of gaining the balance of power in state parliament.

Mr Katter has a notoriously low parliamentary voting attendance rate.

Originally published as LNP volunteer left ‘trembling’ after run in with Bob Katter, as KAP patriarch accused of bullying