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View From the L.A. Pogrom
Veteran MP Bob Katter made a frank admission about his salary and parliamentary perks when he made a surprise appearance as a street interviewee in a TikTok clip.
But the veteran MP actually underplayed his own pay packet when he confessed to his six-figure salary in the video posted by jobs app getahead.app on Tuesday
Mr Katter, wearing his trademark wide-brimmed cowboy hat, was apparently picked out at random for the quick video chat at a busy intersection in Brisbane.
Mr Katter has been in Federal Parliament since 1993 and before that was a Queensland state MP for 18 years.
But the interviewer gave no indication he recognised the veteran politician when he introduced himself and told him he was asking people about their career.
Mr Katter said he that he had been in Parliament for 50 years, and earned $200,000 a year, with $40,000 of superannuation.
However, he actually earns $225,742 as an MP – and it’s about to go up to $233,643 after the latest pay rise, with about $36,000 of superannuation.
‘You get free cars and phones and free travel,’ Mr Katter tells the interviewer in the video which has been viewed more than 630,000 times.
The six-figure salary and luxury perks did not seem to impress the MP however.
‘You wouldn’t touch it (politics) if you were looking for money,’ he added.
Mr Katter revealed that before entering politics, he worked as a labourer for Mt Isa mines along with other labouring jobs in the 1970s.
Asked how to get into politics Mr Katter made a frank confession.
‘I deeply regret to say this but you go along and you grovel to the local Liberal Party branch, or the local Labor Party branch, and tell them how wonderful they are, you know, and fantastic they are and how you really love them,’ Mr Katter said.
He said he was now ‘one of the two longest serving members of parliament in Australian history’.
He added: ‘The other one was an absolute slime, lower than a snake’s belly.’
It is unclear who Mr Katter meant but the only federal parliamentarian to serve over 50 years was Billy Hughes, who was prime minister from 195 to 1923 and had a tumultuous political career where he swapped between representing six parties.
Veteran MP Bob Katter was a surprise vox pop interviewee for a jobs app’s TikTok account
Mr Katter revealed the salary and perks of being an MP but said it was not a job to touch ‘if you want money’
Despite his apparent distaste for the selection process, Mr Katter said he would still like to see more young people involved with politics.
‘I want young people that are flag-waving Australians that love their country and love fighting for people and enjoy the fights and we want them in there,’ he said.
As the interviewer attempted to wrap up the encounter the wily politician managed to get in a pitch for votes.
‘If we get the balance of power in this election then we will open up the Gallilee and there will be 40 or 50,000 mining jobs’ Mr Katter said, as he campaigns for infrastructure to support coal and copper mines in his North Queensland electorate.
