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Other Parliamentary SpeechesThis page is dedicated to Peter's speeches during parliament that do not fall under Questions or Questions without notice. They range from debating legislation, reporting on events or issues in his seat of Southport and his Ministerial Statements.
Liberal Party, By-election Campaigns |
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| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Aug 09 2005 |
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Mr LAWLOR (Southport--ALP) (4.39 pm):
I would like to speak today about a topic that is near and dear to my heart--the Queensland Liberal Party, the party which claims to support whistleblowers. Of course, as we have heard from the Premier today and as we see in the article in the Australian today, that is not so. 'Libs axe rebel for "rodent" outburst.' It refers, of course, to Mr Galt. I will quote a few paragraphs from this article in the Australian. I tabled a copy of this article, the 19-page defence of Mr Galt, in this House on 9 June.
He went public in an attempt to force Mr Howard into taking decisive action against the rampant factionalism that had flared within the Queensland Liberals in recent years. He stated--
My intention at all times was to seek intervention in Queensland at the highest level in order to remedy the clearly factional and dysfunctional activities, at the time, of the Queensland Liberal Party so as to ensure a democratic, inclusive, truthful and successful Liberal Party.
The three-member committee said it was not necessary to 'determine the truth or otherwise' of Mr Galt's controversial allegations.
Mr Galt blasted the disciplinary committee for failing to investigate a secret deal--which he alleges was signed off by Mr Caltabiano--to pay $140,000 in legal fees so that he would drop a challenge to his failed pre-selection bid for the state seat of Moggill.
In his submission, Mr Galt claims that in October 2003, Mr Caltabiano persuaded him to drop a court action challenging his failed bid to stand for the outer Brisbane seat of Moggill by committing the party to pay for his legal fees. Mr Galt said Mr Caltabiano, who has repeatedly denied claims of the deal, paid the bills without the knowledge of executive party members. 'No-one wanted to shine a bad light on Mr Caltabiano in public', Mr Galt said. Mr Caltabiano yesterday declined to comment.
You might recall, of course, that he is the member for Chatsworth. I can understand him declining to comment.
A government member: He will never be the member.
Mr LAWLOR: He is the candidate for that seat in the by-election. I tabled this document on 9 June. The parties to this agreement are Russell Galt, the Liberal Party of Queensland and Michael Caltabiano. The background of the document is as follows: Mr Galt was a candidate for preselection for the Queensland state seat of Moggill. As a result of the plebiscite, there was a Supreme Court action. Then Mr Justice Moynihan made certain orders. Mr Galt appealed against the decision of Justice Moynihan and lodged a notice of appeal.
At the request of the Liberal Party, Mr Galt has agreed to discontinue the appeal on the terms set out in this document. They include that the Liberal Party will pay Mr Galt his full indemnity fees and his expenses, limited to $140,000. The Liberal Party will pay all stamp duty associated with the agreement.
Clause 4 of this document states that Mr Caltabiano, in his statement, would emphasise the good faith and good standing of Mr Galt towards the Liberal Party and the way in which Mr Galt has dealt with the dispute which has taken place. We can see how he has given effect to that. They have kicked him straight out of the party. The document states--
Mr Caltabiano represents, warrants and agrees that he has authority to execute this document on behalf of the Liberal Party.
Then, of course, there are the signatures. On behalf of the Liberal Party, it is signed by Michael Caltabiano and witnessed by a JP by the name of Mrs Lynch. It is also signed by Michael Caltabiano on his own behalf and, of course, witnessed by the JP, Mrs Lynch. There we have it.
The point is that the Liberal Party claims that it supports whistleblowers but, of course, it does not. It is alright whilst they are criticising others, but under no circumstances can anyone within the Liberal Party criticise the party.
Also, there is, of course, the issue of Mrs Margaret Krause being kicked out of the party for six months. This demonstrates the duplicity of Mr Caltabiano because not too long ago he was complaining about the Liberal Party in the Brisbane City Council. He complained that he was being censored. However, when an article was circulated--and it appeared at crikey.com--Mrs Margaret Krause was suspended for circulating that particular article.
Michael Caltabiano complained about alleged censorship in the Brisbane City Council, yet a hardworking rank and file party member is suspended by the Liberal Party organisation in an attempt to censor all criticism. Last changed: [PUBLISHED_DATE] at 12:00 AM
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