Rebel Queensland LNP MP urges colleagues to ‘put on the full armour of God’ and speak against abortion | Queensland politics

Rebel Liberal National party Queensland MP Nigel Dalton, who challenged the state’s premier David Crisafulli over the abortion bill debate earlier this week, encouraged others to “put on the full armor of God” and speak out on the issue.

In an interview posted on YouTube, Dalton told anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe that his “anti-abortion history has probably been 30-something years in the making.”

Howe asked the Mackay MP if he had any advice for other members of his party who felt under pressure to keep quiet about the issue.

“The war is not against men. It’s against principalities. It’s against demons. And you must put on the whole armor of God. You must be sure of your faith, and God will take care of you,” Dalton said.

The LNP has been dogged by questions over its stance on abortion throughout the 2024 election campaign; The party said there would be “no changes” to the legislation as it was “not part of our plan”.

First-term MP Dalton said he, like all other LNP MPs, regretted his vote to throw a wrench into any debate on the issue in 2024, which he put down to “naivety” and a lack of understanding of the motion.

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On Tuesday he took to the floor to vote on Robbie Katter’s motion which would allow him to ask parliament to overturn the decision.

Dalton said he “thought this was my time to redeem myself in the public eye, apologize, and also atone in the eyes of God.”

“That’s what I’m serving. I’m not serving anyone else. I clearly understand that the leadership of the LNP is going to be like that, it’s going to be a difficult period for them to manage this.”

Dalton became the first member of the government to take the floor in several terms.

At a brief press conference on Tuesday, he said the decision was “deeply personal” but declined to go into detail.

Crisafulli downplayed Tuesday’s vote.

“We took a position on the election and that position remains. You know my position. There was a lot of talk about that around the election and I told you there would be no change. And I’d like to think today overwhelmingly reaffirms that,” he said Tuesday.

“My regret is that I didn’t stand up sooner, OK, and I asked God for forgiveness for that; I should have stood up in the campaign,” Dalton told Howe on Tuesday.

“I’ve stood in press conferences with other members of government now in Mackay and we’ve said there will be no change to abortion laws. There probably won’t be any change. But I didn’t believe it,” he said.

During the election campaign, several LNP MPs were quoted as promising changes to the state’s abortion laws. Several members of Crisafulli’s government voted against the bill legalizing it in 2018, and others have expressed strong views against abortion.

During questions on Thursday, Labor launched an attack on LNP deputy minister Amanda Stoker by presenting a document containing allegations against the Oodgeroo MP.

In the video, Matt Cliff, chief executive of anti-abortion group Cherish Life, claims Stoker told him “maybe we can do that next term”, referring to changing Queensland’s abortion laws.

Stoker said in his statement: “I have not undertaken any duty on behalf of the government and there will be no change in the law.”