Copyright thewest
A special portrait has been unveiled for iconic MP Bob Katter to mark his 50 years of service to the Queensland and federal parliaments. The portrait, painted by award-winning artist David Darcy, will be held at the Members Hall in Parliament House. Anthony Albanese was on hand on Thursday to unveil the large-scale painting, which shows Mr Katter standing in a suit holding his trademark Akubra hat. “Bob has become one of Australia’s most recognisable figures,” the prime minister said. “There’s no mistaking that face or voice … We’ve seen him dressed as a pig, we’ve seen him dressed as the grim reaper. “There will be a corner of this Parliament House that is forever Bob Katter.” Mr Albanese praised Mr Katter, who has represented the vast electorate of Kennedy in northwestern Queensland since 1993, as always “fair dinkum” in how he dealt with people across the political spectrum. Mr Katter stood next to Mr Darcy before the giant painting, pulling down a cloth to reveal the artwork, which shows Mr Katter in front of strips of dark and striking red and brown colours. “This is not a painting of a person and I hope no one sees it that way,” Mr Katter said. “It is recognition of people who have very strong feelings about their country to make it a land of opportunity.” Before federal parliament, Mr Katter was elected to the Queensland parliament for the seat of Flinders in 1974, serving there until his switch to federal politics in 1993. He was originally a member of The Nationals Party, before splitting off as an independent in 2001 and then forming his own Katter’s Australian Party in 2011. Born in the small town of Cloncurry in 1945, Mr Katter has served as a fierce advocate for agricultural interests. In his First Speech to parliament in May 1993, he paid tribute to his mother before all other influences in his life. “It is traditional to pay tribute to those people who are important and responsible for putting us here,” he said. “The first person I would like to pay tribute to is my mum, who brought me up to be sincere, to love one’s country deeply, to be good to people less fortunate than oneself and to understand that one’s ultimate responsibility was always to God. “She lived in a galvanised iron house. She had a wood stove, a copper boiler, an icebox and no hot running water.”
