Australian Politician Bob Katter Proposes Values Checklist for Migrants

Bob Katter says migrants should pass a values checklist—including democracy, rule of law and Christianity—before being admitted to Australia.

Independent member for Kennedy Bob Katter speaks during an address at the National Press Club in Canberra, Feb. 14, 2025. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Katter’s Australian Party Bob Katter says migrants should not be allowed into Australia unless they share a similar set of values.

The North Queensland MP said those who burned the Australian flag during recent pro-Palestine marches should be “named” and deported.

“I want their names because we have had a tradition of toleration; these people are not tolerating us,” Katter said.

“If you aren’t tolerating us, we want you out of this country.”

Katter also linked his comments to the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack in Israel.

“I’m not particularly nice to people that cross a border, invade another country, and murder over 1,200 people,” he said.

Call for Tougher Migrant Checks

Katter called for a set of checks to be carried out on anyone migrating to Australia.

“Tick the boxes. Do they have democracy? Do they have the rule of law? Do they have Christianity or some similar belief system? Do they have egalitarian traditions? Do they have industrial awards?” he said.

“If they don’t tick the boxes, they don’t come here.”

He also backed the March for Australia rallies, scheduled for Aug. 31 in capital cities and regional centres. Organisers describe them as patriotic demonstrations, held in response to recent pro-Palestine marches.

Questions Over Heritage

Reporters at a Brisbane press conference repeatedly questioned Katter about his Lebanese-born grandfather, Carl Robert Katter, who migrated to Australia more than a century ago.

Katter rejected the line of questioning, accusing a journalist of racism for focusing on his background rather than the issues at hand

He said his family had been Australians for 140 years.

Entrepreneur and former political candidate Matthew Camenzuli said raising Katter’s heritage was effectively a way of questioning his Australian identity.

“We must unashamedly assert Australian culture and leave multiculturalism in the dust,” he wrote on X.

“When people choose Australia, we should commend them for their good choice and help them get along, so we may all get along.

“It is impossible for us to be Australian when everyone is fixated on the places people left behind. We have always been a nation of many races, but we must be allowed our Australian culture.”

Katter’s Australian Party holds one federal seat and three seats in the Queensland Parliament.