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Former Senator Kristina Keneally has been announced as Labor’s candidate for the Division of Kennedy in an effort to unseat long-serving independent MP Bob Katter.
The decision marks another high-profile attempt by the Labor Party to install Keneally in a winnable seat, following her failed campaign in the Western Sydney electorate of Fowler in 2022. That bid ended in a humiliating defeat, with Keneally losing the safe Labor seat to independent Dai Le after backlash over her lack of local connections and respect for locals.
Labor’s defended the move, dismissing comparisons to Fowler.
“Kristina is a highly capable and experienced politician who understands the issues that matter to Australians,” the spokesperson said.
“Kennedy is a critical electorate, and we believe she can deliver for the people of North Queensland. She has been there before and has flagged that she’s keen on a move to Mount Isa if elected.”
Katter, who has held the seat since 1993, was quick to reject Labor’s push to replace him.
“Well, ha,” he said.
“They’re sending someone from Sydney, oh, sorry Las Vegas, up here to tell North Queenslanders what they need? That’s like trying to teach a bloody bull to tap dance, but the bull’s already three Arrowroot biscuits deep, listening to Fetty Wap on repeat, and frankly, it doesn’t care for your dance lessons. What do they think is going to happen? She steps off the plane in Townsville, shakes hands with a bloke in an Akubra, eats a mango, yells at some noisy birds and suddenly she’s one of us? You don’t just become a North Queensland. This place isn’t a gimmick, it’s not some laboratory where politicians can come up and play dress-ups in a Bunnings straw hat and pretend they understand why a bloke needs six utes and one pair of shoes. And I’ll tell you what, the last bloke who tried to tell the people of Kennedy what was good for them was some American fella who came up here in the ’70s talking about ‘opportunities for economic expansion.’ Well, we sat him down, poured him a pot of Bundy, and three hours later he was out in the paddock arguing with a fencepost about harvesting pigeon meet. Never saw him again. I assume he’s still out there, probably running a bait shop near Hughenden. But you know what this reminds me of? The time the bloody Beatles came to Australia. Now, I was just a young fella, full of piss and vinegar and Chinese food, and we all thought, Why should these English boys get all the attention? So we went down to chuck eggs at them, and let me tell you, I had an arm like Jeff Thomson in those days. Now, he’s a Sydney boy but he is a naturalised Queenslander if I ever saw one. You can set your watch to Thommo. Anyway, one of mine went straight over a copper’s head and clocked Ringo Starr right on the nose. Bang. Clean shot. And that’s what this is. Labor thinks they can fly in, make a bit of noise, and waltz out of here with a victory. But they don’t realise, we’ve been here before. We’ve seen the act. And we’re pretty bloody good at throwing eggs AND eating pigeons when times are tough. Look, I don’t blame her. I really don’t. I’m sure she’s a nice lady. But Kennedy doesn’t need a nice lady flown in from the city to tell us what’s best. What we need is water. We need someone to finish the Bradfield Scheme, to stop wasting all this good fresh water pouring into the ocean where it is promptly drunk by greedy fish and start sending it inland where it can make a difference. We need railways that actually go where they should, not these half-baked corridors fulla [sic] fancy trains and well-fed baby boomers. And we need blokes who know how to drive a manual gearbox. Roadranger is a bonus. So no, I don’t think she’s got much of a shot, unless she’s prepared to take a shovel, dig a trench, and personally redirect the Flinders River. And even then, she’s still gotta learn how to drink a cup of team properly, and I just don’t think there’s time for that before the next election.”
Keneally said she was looking forward to engaging with voters in Kennedy, despite acknowledging she was new to the electorate.
“I respect Bob Katter’s long-standing service, but the people of Kennedy deserve strong representation that connects them with a federal government that can deliver real outcomes,” she said.
“I will spend every day listening, learning, and fighting for this region.”
Labor has struggled to make gains in Kennedy, with Katter increasing his primary vote to 45% at the last election. Political analysts say Keneally faces an uphill battle in the sprawling rural electorate.
More to come.
