The men pictured above have big plans for Queensland’s women and girls.
They are the Katter Australian Party (KAP), with hopes of introducing a private member’s bill to repeal abortion laws in the next term of the Queensland parliament, with the election due on October 26.
The KAP is led by Robbie Katter (front of photo), a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly and son of Bob Katter (lurking in the back of photo), the Federal MP who recently celebrated half a century in politics and is known for his bizarre digressions in the media and Question Time.
The KAP has four Queensland MPs, with Katter (the younger one) telling the ABC on Tuesday that they will “quick as you like, put a repeal bill back into the Queensland parliament on those abortion laws.”
Such a suggestion has now seen Labor and women’s advocates demanding the Liberal National Party (LNP), which is currently in Opposition, publicly commit to protecting women’s access to abortion.
Children by Choice CEO Jill McKay says that without a clear and categorical stance on whether the LNP will oppose Katter’s repeat efforts, voters should question whether the LNP will defend the hard-won reproductive rights achieved in 2018.
She described the Katter comments as “a wake up call for Queenslanders”.
“We need to hear from the LNP, without ambiguity, that they will oppose any attempt to wind back abortion access in our state. The time for vague statements has passed,” she said.
“David Crisafulli’s (LNP leader) suggestion that abortion is ‘too sensitive’ to talk about is a distraction—it’s not about sensitivity for the LNP, it’s about political convenience. What’s truly sensitive are the deeply personal decisions women and pregnant people make about their pregnancies, which is exactly why we need to hear a categorical commitment from the LNP to protect their rights, now and into the future.
“Queenslanders—especially Queensland women—are smarter than this. We’ve seen how rights can be slowly eroded, as they were in the US, and we won’t allow it to happen here. The time for vague assurances is over. We need the LNP to stand with us, and with all Queenslanders, against any threat to abortion access.”
Katter attempted to amend the bill on termination in March this year, but could not get the bill supported by a parliamentary committee.
With the election coming up and a potential change of government from Labor to LNP, Katter could have another shot at bringing an abortion bill to a vote in the house.