Is Bob Katter the only person in Australia who doesn’t remember his classic speech on marriage equality and crocodiles?
In 2017, the veteran Queensland MP made global headlines with his response to a question about the recent vote in favour of legalising same-sex marriage.
In a clip that became an instant classic, Katter said with a whiplash-inducing shift in tone: “I mean, you know, people are entitled to their sexual proclivities. Let there be a thousand blossoms bloom, as far as I am concerned. But I ain’t spending any time on it because in the meantime, every three months, a person is torn to pieces by a crocodile in North Queensland.”
The screed is still frequently referenced whenever Katter’s name is mentioned in the news. But it appears Katter is one of the few people who doesn’t recall the moment.
Katter recently spoke to Crikey about an amendment he tried to move to the NBN Companies Act, and during the lengthy and freewheeling conversation, the MP made a comment that sounded tantalisingly familiar.
“The Queensland budget [put aside] $36 billion on tunnels in Brisbane, where we’ve got a person dying every three weeks, maybe, in Far North Queensland, mainly because we haven’t got that tunnel,” Katter said, referencing his long-running advocacy campaign for more infrastructure investment in his sprawling rural electorate.
Crikey’s reporter asked: “When you said that every couple of weeks you have people dying because you don’t have that tunnel, it kind of reminded me of that classic clip of you when you talk about the marriage equality debate and about crocodiles. Do you remember that moment, and is that something you still feel strongly about?”
To which Katter responded: “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re referring to.”
At least his merch people certainly remember.
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