Queensland Parliament paralysed as Labor sacks strife-stricken MP
QUEENSLAND is in a state of political paralysis, with Labor dumping disgraced MP Billy Gordon and creating a deadlock on the floor of State Parliament.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is desperately hoping the Member for Cook will quit Parliament and force a by-election in the far north Queensland seat, which the LNP has won just twice in the past 40 years. POLITICAL ANIMAL: MP a seasoned player EDITORIAL: MP must quit for good of state
Labor now controls just 44 seats in Parliament with the support of Independent Speaker Peter Wellington, and would need either Mr Gordon or the two Katter’s Australian Party MPs to enact any new laws.
“ The Premier has previously requested that the Police Commissioner investigate whether I have transgressed any law and that process should be allowed to continue its natural course,” Mr Gordon said.
“Any other attempt to remove me from the Parliament and force me to resign is a denial of natural justice.”
Mr Gordon said he was due to have a serious eye operation today.
How The Courier-Mail and Sunday Mail reported the unfolding crisis.
Just six weeks after a minority deal was hammered out in the hung Parliament, Mr Gordon could create a nightmare scenario for the Palaszczuk Government where it can no longer guarantee the passage of any legislation if he choses to continue his $160,000-a-year political career.
A shaken Ms Palaszczuk announced yesterday she had ordered Mr Gordon’s Labor membership be torn up after he admitted to hiding a string of criminal offences which Labor’s candidate vetting failed to find.
The Premier acknowledged her decision would put a question mark over the Government but insisted Mr Gordon’s offences, including multiple break-and-enter charges and his deceit were unacceptable.
“I have always maintained integrity is fundamental to any government I lead,” she said.
“Today I am prepared to put my premiership on the line.”
While Labor cannot force an MP from Parliament, Ms Palaszczuk called on Mr Gordon to quit for the good of the state.
“In the best interests of the party, in the best interests of the Parliament and in the best interests of Queensland, he should resign as a member of Parliament,” she said.
Ms Palaszczuk refused to say whether Labor would accept Mr Gordon’s vote.
Crossbench members yesterday threw the Palaszczuk Government a lifeline, with Mr Wellington insisting he would continue to support them and backed calls for Mr Gordon to resign.
“If he chooses to stay on, his position will be a distraction to any matters raised,” he said.
Katter’s Australian Party’s Robbie Katter said he was not in the business of “tearing governments down” and would reopen support negotiations.
Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said the Premier still must answer why she failed to act sooner on the abuse claims.
Member for Cook Billy Gordon during Question Time on Friday. Pic: Jono Searle
Government could change in a month
QUEENSLAND could be thrust into a government-changing by-election in just 26 days if embattled MP Billy Gordon takes the Premier’s advice and resigns.
Sources confirmed there would be nothing preventing a vote within weeks if Mr Gordon were to quit and Annastacia Palaszczuk visited Governor Paul de Jersey or Speaker Peter Wellington to ask for a by-election.
Such a move today would place the timing of a by-election on Anzac Day on April 25, but it’s likely the poll would be put off until Saturday, May 2, to avoid the national day of remembrance.
Sitting on a margin of nearly 7 per cent after Labor saw a 10.2 per cent swing in February, the vast north Queensland seat of Cook has been held by Labor for all but two terms in its history.
Lost in Labor’s landslide defeats in 1974 and when Campbell Newman swept to power in 2012, it extends north to Port Douglas, Mossman, Cooktown, the indigenous communities of the Cape and Torres Strait Islands and west to the Atherton Tableland and Mareeba.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in Townsville yesterday for Community Cabinet.
ALP state secretary Evan Moorhead yesterday committed to a review of vetting procedures after Premier Palaszczuk questioned how Mr Gordon’s past had not been known after he was selected twice by the party – first to run in the federal seat of Leichhardt and then the state seat of Cook.
“The party needs to have a thorough review of their selection processes,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement.”
Asked whether she would continue to take Mr Gordon’s vote once he is expelled from the party, Ms Palaszczuk said: “His position is untenable.”
