Herding Katter – Bob Katter

Bob Katter is about to turn 80, an age when most people are long retired. But the maverick MP – a colourful character in the federal and Queensland parliaments for more than 50 years – now finds himself in the spotlight once again.

Not only is he getting the rare honour of an official portrait, Katter is one of the key crossbenchers whose support may decide the outcome of the election in the event of a hung parliament.

"When people simply ridicule him for being some Queensland hick, they do so at their own peril," former prime minister and friend Kevin Rudd tells Australian Story.

The last time Katter was thrust into the role of ‘kingmaker' in a hung Parliament was 2010, when Julia Gillard sought the support of three independents to form a government. Katter says he learned from that experience and would make the most of any new opportunity to influence government policy.

"I'm not locked into either side," Katter tells Australian Story. "I'll be pretty brutal about getting what I want."

Australian Story secured unprecedented access to Katter over the past five months. We've filmed him in Canberra with his exasperated staffers, across his sprawling electorate where the TikTok sensation is mobbed by young fans, and at home with his longsuffering wife.

Think you know everything there is to know about Bob Katter? Think again.