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Bob Katter livened up a meeting of his party’s state candidates in Brisbane by breaking into song.

A former cricketing great has confirmed he’ll contest the next Queensland election, after being personally recruited by Bob Katter.

UNDECLARED: Bob Katter is under fire for failing to declare properties owned by his wife Susan Katter.
Source: HWT Image Library

MAVERICK Queensland MP Bob Katter has failed to declare nearly $700,000 worth of family properties on his register of interests in a clear snub to strict parliamentary rules.

An investigation by The Courier-Mail can also reveal that Mr Katter, the spearhead behind the new conservative Katter’s Australian Party, earned $182,405 through a combination of private donations and taxpayer funding for the votes he received in federal elections. All of it is tax-free and his to keep.

Mr Katter said he was clueless about the family properties listed in the name of his wife, despite living in one of the homes.

Property searches reveal three investment properties owned by Susie Katter and the couple’s north Queensland home have not been declared in the spouse column on the register of interests dating as far back as Mr Katter’s entry to Parliament in 2001.

Privately, senior government figures are critical of Mr Katter for being so lax with his records.

They show he has not declared a three-bedroom Brisbane house bought in Mrs Katter’s name 12 years ago for $280,000.

Mrs Katter also bought, with her son Robbie Katter, a three-bedroom Townsville home eight years ago for $230,000 and a five-bedroom home in Mount Isa for $181,500 in 2006.

Most MPs provide details of their spouse’s property and business interests as they are supposed to do.

But Mr Katter is decidedly vague – he wrote that his wife had bought and sold properties over the years but she would not provide details. “She regards this as her private business,” Mr Katter wrote.

However, other MPs and spouses list their held properties individually by suburb with some ministers and their wives even detailing specific addresses.

Mr Katter’s bid to thumb his nose at transparency and accountability comes as he attempts to position Katter’s Australian Party as a professional outfit different from other controversial breakaway outfits that have attracted legal problems.

Mr Katter was unavailable to comment but a spokeswoman said he struggled to keep track of his and his wife’s interests because of his frequent travel.

But Mr Katter’s “no detailed knowledge” comes despite his wife also being the sole owner of the couple’s Charters Towers family home, bought at an undisclosed price, where the maverick MP also resides.

Overall, the Independent MPs who keep Julia Gillard in power have made taxpayer-funded profits of $520,000 from federal election campaigns.

Tony Windsor, the rural NSW MP who has bought several farms in the past 12 months, has pocketed $257,986 from four federal elections.

NSW Independent Rob Oakeshott, who rose to national fame after backing Ms Gillard to become Prime Minister, made a “profit” of $55,504 from the 2010 campaign while first-time Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie had a surplus of $24,404.

Under federal tax laws, Independent MPs do not have to declare the “statutory income” they receive during election campaigns.

That means they are free to keep the thousands of dollars they earn through the public purse, just as former One Nation leader Pauline Hanson did when she was accused of only running for Parliament because of a profit motive.

Every MP and senator receives $2.31 for every vote provided they secure at least 4 per cent of the primary vote.