State integrity brawl spills into MPs’ private lives
A bitter state political debate over integrity and conflicts of interest has descended into a bitter public row over MPs’ private lives after a ministerial issue triggered a fresh review in parliament.
Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has threatened to expose the relationships of five Labor MPs as he defended the handling of the relationship between Olympic Minister Tim Mander and Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm.
During a heated Question Time, Mr Bleijie turned the spotlight back on the opposition as he continued to pepper the Liberal National government with questions about when the pair disclosed their dealings with integrity officials.
“I say to the opposition Labor leader that he has set a new standard that all MPs must now live by regarding their private lives,” Mr Bleijie told parliament on Tuesday. he said.
“I agree that this is a test of leadership … it’s a test of his leadership and whether he can apply the same standard and threshold to his own team that he now feels comfortable applying to others on the other side of the room,” he said.
The deputy prime minister mocked Labor by investigating a series of past and alleged relationships involving MPs and asking whether those relationships had been properly declared.
Mr Mander was repeatedly pressed about whether he had managed conflicts of interest appropriately following the allocation of Olympic events, including sailing, to Ms Camm’s Whitsunday electorate.
He insisted he followed the integrity commissioner’s advice and rejected suggestions that he was influenced by a letter about the relationship sent to Prime Minister David Crisafulli.
“I met with the integrity commissioner on a number of occasions, had relevant discussions about potential conflicts of interest and made appropriate representations at the appropriate time,” Mr Mander said.
“I had no knowledge that a former relative had contacted the prime minister’s office regarding this particular matter… I made the statement completely independently of any source, any instruction… any claim or inference that I was influenced by anything or anyone is completely false,” he said.
Mr Mander also distanced himself from the decision to shift Olympic sailing to the Whitsundays, saying it was made by Mr Bleijie and that he was “not given any advocacy” by Ms Camm as she was not the minister responsible for racing venues.
While the Prime Minister continued to back his ministers, saying they were “full of answers” and had announced the relationship at an appropriate time, he refused to give further details about the integrity advice.
