As one of the three men who now hold the balance of power in federal politics, Mr Katter told the Sydney Morning Herald last night he expects to act in concert with his two fellow regional independents, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott.

''Though we are not a bloc we're also not effective if we do not act collectively,'' he said. ''I'll walk a long way to accommodate them, and I hope they'll accommodate me … We're very good friends. We have coffee every day [when Parliament sits].''

Yesterday Mr Katter presented a list of his 20 priorities to both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. Some of them are set squarely against core Labor government policies.

Notably, the 20 points include: ''No carbon tax … No emissions trading scheme … No mining tax… rural hospitals under the control of a local hospital board.''

But when asked if these policies meant he was leaning towards the Coalition, Mr Katter replied, ''No.''

''Labor's mining tax doesn't really worry me.''

He added that the government also appeared fluid on the issue of an emissions trading scheme.

What he is most concerned about was an issue where both sides had failed, controlling the market concentration of the Coles and Woolworths supermarket duopoly. ''Does anyone think that an 85 per cent market share in the hands of two retailers is a good thing?''

He wants a cap of 22.5 per cent on the market share on any retailer. Alternatively, food retailers could be proscribed from a mark-up of more than 100 per cent on the wholesale cost of any product they sell.

Mr Katter's other top priority is the creation of a national energy grid and the development of more clean fuel, preferably ethanol.

''If I don't get action on the national energy grid I will be on the warpath,'' he said. ''In Mount Isa and Cloncurry, we're running out of electricity … We're going to run out of power in north-west Queensland in 2012.''

He said the previous Coalition government had failed to develop northern Australia, in contrast to the former Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who had been committed to national development programs.

But again he stressed he was not yet leaning to either major party. ''The Katter is among the pigeons, and the situation is infinitely complex.''