Independent also warns reintroduction of Australian Building and Construction Commission would affect his relationship with government

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Crossbench MP Bob Katter has taken aim at the federal government’s decision not to nominate Kevin Rudd for the contest to become the United Nations secretary general, labelling it mean-spirited and partisan.

In an interview with ABC Radio National, Katter praised Rudd’s competence and said Malcolm Turnbull had bowed to internal pressure when he rejected the bid.

He also warned the reintroduction of the Australian Building and Construction Commission would affect his relationship with the government.

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The prime minister announced last Friday that Rudd would not be nominated for the post at the UN because he was not suited to the role.

The decision followed a cabinet split, with foreign minister, Julie Bishop, backing Rudd’s nomination and conservative cabinet members, including Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton, opposing it.

On Monday, Katter said it was: “Clearly a decision made out of political partisanship”.

“Malcolm Turnbull isn’t petty and mean-spirited like that. He bowed to pressure from the ‘blue Blues’ ... [who] can’t see anything except politics; they have tunnel vision, they can’t see the good of the nation.”

Katter said the national interest was served by an Australian serving as secretary general, and praised Rudd for his response to the global financial crisis, the national broadband network and governance of Queensland.

“Don’t tell me he can’t do things – that’s not a correct statement.”

Katter acknowledged Rudd was a friend of his, but quipped:“I’ve got lot of my friends I wouldn’t back in for positions of power.”

Asked if the rejection of Rudd would harm his cooperation with the government, Katter said “not really” and that his advocacy for Rudd was “to help the government”.

He said he had tried to help Turnbull “get the nation’s [good] will moving forward – you don’t do that by proving you’re mean spirited and politically partisan”.

“The real issue is the bloke happened to be ALP not LNP – that’s what the Australian people will see.

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“Arguments about competence won’t cut any ice, they know exactly the reason why [Rudd wasn’t chosen].”

Turnbull has rejected the claim partisanship was behind the rebuff of Rudd, saying the decision had “nothing to do with Mr Rudd’s party, nothing at all”.

In a tweet on Monday, Rudd thanked a group of prominent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians who expressed “true disappointment” at the fact the government had not endorsed Rudd’s bid.

Kevin Rudd (@MrKRudd) I am humbled by the support of our Indigenous brothers and sisters. Indigenous peoples of the world need our support pic.twitter.com/jBsXrmhPrJ

Asked about Labor’s win in Herbert leaving the government with a one-seat majority, Katter said Turnbull was “an intelligent person, he knows he can’t run a government with one vote up his sleeve”.

Katter said he would “take [Turnbull] on his word” about cooperation in the new parliament and that the tight numbers meant the prime minister would “need the good grace” of the crossbench to function.

“I also pointed out to the prime minister that everyone on the backbench wanted a ministry, and that kind of careerism makes every government unstable.”

Katter drew a brighter line on the reintroduction of the Australian Building and Construction Commission, saying it “most certainly will” affect his relationship with the government.

“Those are the sorts of issues that would provoke me into an entirely different mindset than I have at the current time.”

He said the tougher building industry watchdog removed the right to silence and could result in “incarceration without due process”, a reference to compulsory interviews of people who may have evidence of industrial breaches in the building industry.

Katter raised concerns about the national debt, which he said had increased by 50% in the three years since Tony Abbott was elected in 2013. He blamed the Liberals free-market policies but said the “ALP is even worse on free markets so don’t let them go crying about it”.

Katter said the government should spend up on projects that would help Australia service debt, including Hell’s Gate dam, and a freight rail line to the Galilee coal fields.