June 11, 2026 — 5:00amMaverick MP Bob Katter isn’t the most regular visitor to Melbourne, so when he hits the ground the man in the hat tends to get noticed.The member for Kennedy in Queensland was spotted not just in town but dancing on social media on Sunday, and naturally, we were curious.Katter, 81, looked to be having the time of his life, dancing with fellow guests including former federal MP Michael Danby at a bar mitzvah – and yes, his trademark Akubra stayed in place.Bob Katter says a few words at a bar mitzvah in Melbourne, where he was an invited guest.Katter was a guest at the bar mitzvah for Mendel and Zalman Feldman, the sons of Rabbi Shmueli and Chasia Feldman.Rabbi Feldman is the rabbi of Kew in Melbourne and the long-standing rabbi for Canberra.He and Katter have come to know each other through that Canberra connection.Feldman said: “Over the years, I’ve developed friendships with different political leaders, and I have run many events in Parliament House for Hanukkah and other times of the year, and since day one, Bob has always been very, very welcoming and supportive.”The private event was held in the Glen Eira town hall and attended by several hundred friends and family.Katter matched the occasion’s joy, Feldman said.“The kids, the bar mitzvah kids, and the crowd loved him, and he busted out the dance moves like he was a spring chicken in 1965,” Feldman said. “He got the whole place rocking.“I’m deeply appreciative that he made the effort to come [to Melbourne] for the occasion.”CBD checked in on Katter on Wednesday, to see what he was up to after his Melbourne sojourn and found him back in Queensland at the tavern in El Arish – a township of 300 about 90 minutes south of Cairns – enjoying a bite of smoked crocodile.Peter Dutton to surface at property talkfestFormer opposition leader Peter Dutton has managed to keep a relatively low profile since his defeat at last year’s federal election, where he lost his seat to Labor MP Ali France.In the days after his election loss, Dutton told reporters at Canberra Airport that he planned to “make a graceful exit from politics” and maintain a “graceful silence”.Peter Dutton has been keeping a low profile since his election defeat in May 2025.James BrickwoodBut our guess is it will be difficult for the former Liberal Party leader to bypass talk of politics altogether come October, when he is set to appear at The Star in Brisbane alongside former Queensland premier Anna Bligh for the Property Council’s “property congress”.Dutton and Bligh are the headline act of the three-day event, where they’re scheduled to discuss “the realities of political decision-making”, policy and “what it means for the future of the property sector” in front of “800 senior property leaders”.“From the realities of political decision-making to the role of industry in driving growth, this session will unpack the intersection of policy and place, and what it means for the future of the property sector,” reads the invitation.The event was organised before Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered the budget on May 12, and invitations went out the following week. But we would imagine Labor’s budget, which has since been hammered by the business community over its proposed capital gains tax change, will give Dutton and Bligh plenty to chew on.In a sense, both have been lying low over the past year. Bligh stepped down as chief executive of the Australian Banking Association last June and, as CBD reported on Wednesday, has been named the new chair of children’s charity Unicef Australia. But no doubt the views of the nation’s biggest lenders will still be fresh on her mind.Crikey! Robert Irwin lands Logies gig Confirmation came early on Wednesday that CBD was on the money with our tip that Robert Irwin was likely to host this year’s Logie Awards.Robert Irwin, pictured with the Prince of Wales in South Africa in 2024, will host the 66th TV Week Logie Awards.Getty ImagesThe official announcement came just after 7am that the former co-host of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! would helm Australian TV’s biggest night.The 22-year-old conservationist, winner of the US version of Dancing with the Stars, and pal of the Prince of Wales, takes over the hosting duties from Sam Pang, who has had the gig for the past three years. He is the youngest person in the event’s 60-plus-year history to land the role. He was just nine when he received his first Logie nomination. He was a Gold Logie nominee in 2024.“I grew up watching the Logies with my family, so this is certainly an honour,” Irwin said.“Australian television has given so much to so many people. To be part of the biggest night in Aussie TV is something I don’t take lightly. I cannot wait.”Irwin and his family have played their part in Logie history. His father, “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, who died in 2006, famously appeared on stage at the 2003 Logies to present an award with a carpet snake. Things went wildly off script when he rolled off-stage and landed in the crowd with the angry reptile then aggressively sinking its fangs into newsreader Tim Webster’s thigh – all live on TV. What’s that saying about never working with animals?The next chapter of Logies history to be written when the awards are handed out in Sydney on August 16.What Andrew Forrest wrote to the PMIt was hardly a surprise to learn that Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, executive chairman of the mining giant Fortescue, was making personal overtures to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over the billionaire’s campaign to wind back the diesel fuel rebate.What did amuse us, however, was the whiff of desperation with which Twiggy was forced to write to Albo asking to discuss the proposed changes, in a letter sent before the May 12 federal budget.Fortescue founder Andrew Forrest was front and centre at a Shanghai press conference with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in July last year.Dominic LorrimerIn his April 14 letter, Forrest urged Albanese to consider introducing a $50 million cap on the diesel fuel rebate before the budget. The rebate, he wrote, refunds $11 billion a year to businesses, much of it flowing to large miners. Of course, it never came. (At least not this financial year, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said last month.)But the missive and accompanying correspondence between the prime minister’s office and Fortescue obtained by CBD under freedom of information laws show Twiggy couldn’t get Albanese’s ear.“I appreciate this is a busy period,” Twiggy wrote in the letter. “I tried to reach you last week and also offered to meet Treasurer Chalmers in Washington this week to discuss the proposal directly. I urge you to consider this reform in the May budget.”It’s not often we see the billionaire reveal a little neediness.It’s not uncommon for the prime minister to meet business bosses. So why was it so difficult for Twiggy to get his ear?The prime minister’s office declined to comment on whether Albanese had met Forrest in the weeks since, and whether the prime minister responded to Forrest’s letter. But the treasurer’s office was a little more forthcoming. A spokeswoman for Chalmers said he spoke “directly” with Twiggy following the letter “and before the budget”.“[Chalmers] has also personally met with the CEO, Mr [Dino] Otranto, on at least three occasions in the past 12 months in both Canberra and at Fortescue HQ in Perth,” the spokeswoman said.Fortescue, meanwhile, noted it wasn’t alone in calling for the change and said everything the company had to say about the proposal had been said publicly.“As with any policy reform, there have been ongoing discussions with government, industry and other stakeholders over an extended period, and those discussions continue,” a Fortescue spokeswoman told CBD.From our partners