Maverick Queensland MP Bob Katter’s family have revealed the “deeply personal” reasons behind his fiery clash with a journalist after he threatened to punch a reporter who asked about his late father’s Lebanese heritage.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged the 80-year-old MP to “have a look at himself” following the outburst, which sparked debate on the Today show where host Karl Stefanovic remarked, “we’re all wogs.”
“Look, Bob Katter I like, but Bob Katter needs to have a look at that footage. Have a look at himself, frankly, and recognise that that’s just not what we expect of any Australian, let alone someone who’s in public office,” Mr Albanese said.
“You’re speaking to someone called Albanese. We’ve got a Senate leader called Wong. Migration enriches.”
Insiders believe the confrontation was driven not by his father’s heritage but by long-standing emotional scars from his family history such as his close bond with his late mother, Mabel Horn, and a strained relationship with his father, Bob Katter Snr, also a federal politician.
His own son Robbie Katter, a third generation politician who sits in the Queensland parliament, explained he doesn’t know anything about his late grandmother because his father becomes too distressed when he talks about it.
“Every single thing I have ever done in my life could quite rightly be attributed to my mother,” Mr Katter once told the ABC’s Australian Story.
Mabel Katter died in 1971, when he was in his twenties. Katter cared for her at home while his father travelled for work. Speaking on Australian Story, he grew emotional recalling her sacrifices, “She was told that she could never have children, that it would threaten her life, and most certainly shorten her life, which it did,” he said.
“(But) she would never have been happy unless she was a mother. So, if she had to die, well, she had to die.”
His son, Robbie Katter, now a Queensland MP, defended his father’s angry reaction.
“I’ve got to say it’s not the first time I sort of seen my dad explode when I’ve been a kid with press conferences and seen plenty of confrontations, really, with journalists,’’ Robbie Katter told Sky News on Friday, August 29, 2025.
Peter Stefanovic then said he was “curious as to why this one got him so mad”.
“I mean, you’ve got Lebanese heritage, I’ve got Serbian and German heritage. What’s racist about asking about that?”
Katter’s son explained his father’s reaction was “deeply personal”.
“There is a deeply personal connection with him and his family and his, you know, his parents and there’s a dimension to that that’s very touchy,” Robbie Katter told Sky News.
“I think (the journalist) did it unwittingly and without any malice, but regardless, it was a deeply personal issue to him… and he didn’t take the cues and kept pressing and provoking and generated a more aggressive response than most people are used to.”
The blow-up unfolded on Thursday August 28, 2025, outside Queensland Parliament during a press conference about the upcoming March For Australia rally.
While discussing his views on migration, Katter told reporters that only migrants from places with democracy, rule of law, Christianity, and industrial awards should be welcome in Australia.
“If they don’t tick the boxes, they don’t come here,” he said.
But tensions flared when Channel 9 journalist Josh Bavas asked about his Lebanese ancestry.
“Don’t say that! Because that irritates me, and I’ve punched blokes in the mouth for saying that. Don’t you say that! My family has been here for 140 years,” Katter shouted.
“I have on many occasions, punched blokes in the mouth, so I’m restraining myself today. Don’t say it!”
Another journalist then asked Katter what was wrong with the line of questioning.
“I’m not dealing with the subject,” Katter said.
“I’m an Australian, my family has been here since the dawn of time, that’s the end of it.
“Even if my family had only been here 10 minutes, no one has the right to say what he just said.”
Nine journalist Bavas pressed further, pointing out “There are people who have come from other countries, like yourselves, like your family, that have good values’’ setting him off again.
“Don’t say that, because you’re a racist,” he said, pointing his finger at the reporter’s face.
“You’re a racist, you cannot say what you’ve just said without being identified as a racist.”
Katter then waved his fist in Bava’s face while the outburst continued.
During his press conference, Katter then claimed that the vast majority of recent migrants to Australia moved to either Sydney or Melbourne.
“Do you see them mixing with other Australians? Dressing like other Australians? Being friendly with other Australians? Being in the local Lions Club? Do you see that?” he asked.
“You don’t want to become an Australian, you got to get the hell out of this country.”
Bavas later released a statement, calling the exchange “extraordinary.”
“I was trying to ask a question about the value migrant Australian families, including the Katters and my own family, bring to this nation through shared values,” he said.
“In my near 20 years in journalism, I’ve never experienced that kind of reaction from an elected representative.”
Nine’s executive director of news and current affairs Fiona Dear said Katter’s “aggressive behaviour and threats” were “unacceptable”.
“His baseless and offensive accusation of racism is an irresponsible attempt to shut down a legitimate line of questioning and warrants a public apology from Mr Katter,” she said in a statement.
It’s not the first time the outspoken MP has clashed over his background. In 2018, he branded another journalist “a racist” for mentioning his grandfather’s Lebanese origins.
“No, he’s not. He’s an Australian, and I resent strongly you describing him as Lebanese,” Katter said at the time.
“That is a racist comment, and you should take it back, and you should be ashamed of yourself for saying it in public.”
Requests for comment have been made to Katter’s office.
Images: 7NEWS
Tags: Bob Katter, News, parliament, politics, Robbie Katter