By Genevieve Hayward
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

BEAUDESERT MP Aidan McLindon is expected to formally announce the merger of his Queensland Party with Federal MP Bob Katter’s recently-formed Australian Party tomorrow (Tuesday, August 9).

Late on Monday night (August 8), the Australian Party put out a media alert for a press conference to be held by Mr McLindon and Mr Katter at the war memorial in the centre of Beaudesert.

The alert followed speculation over the weekend that the two parties would merge.

Speaking earlier on Monday, Mr McLindon told the Times that he and Mr Katter had been in talks for several weeks to negotiate a potential merger, in a move Mr McLindon said “made sense”.

“There is nothing concrete yet but there is a lot of merit in considering it... it was two months ago that Katter registered his party and I’ve gone through a lot of thought processes as a result,” he said on Monday.

“There is a lot of common ground and I think there is huge potential there to present a strong alternative to the two-headed creature of the ALP and the LNP.

“It would be silly to run parallel, it would be detrimental to both the Queensland Party and the Australian Party and that is why I think the possibility or at least negotiations to look at a common strategy is going to be far more fruitful to Queensland in terms of getting people in parliament and providing good government.

“Instead of selling two different messages to the electorate we need to sell it as a single force that can be legitimised as a credible option at the ballot box.”

A former member of the Queensland Liberal National Party, Mr McLindon quit almost two years ago to sit as an independent before forming the Queensland Party

He said despite the upheaval in his political career, voters could still trust him.

“The reality is that right from my entry into politics and my maiden speech in 2009 my beliefs have not altered,” he said.

“I have never ever compromised in those beliefs, the only people that have compromised are the LNP.

“In terms of the Queensland Party, if there are two entities saying the same thing, then it would make sense to work a strategy out where you have a united force.

“People may say his changed from the LNP to the Queensland Party and now he is talking about possible negotiations but the reality is that my beliefs have not altered.”