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LNP's Dirty Deed Docs 'Belong in the 1950S'

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2/24/2016 LNP's dirty deed docs 'belong in the 1950s' Queensland LOGIN / SIGN-UP News Sport Business Politics Comment Tech Entertainment Lifestyle Travel Cars Prope Queensland Natioral World Environmen, I .cLl th LcCJcation Home > News > Queensland ,_ _______,,.,_ _ _ _____, _____ Ji 11 COMMENTS SAVE PRINT REPRINTS & PERMISSIONS LNP's dirty deed docs 'belong in the 1950s' MORE HuffPost Australia UPDATE A Liberal National Party dirt sheet detailing a minister's epilepsy and Australia Has Passed A Medical .. External lin k childhood adoption reflect the attitudes of the 1950s and have no place in political campaigns, Premier Anna Bligh says. Bill Shorten Ca lls Cory Bernardi A ... External link • LNP leader Campbell Newman. Photo: Steve Holland The government today stepped up its calls for the LNP to sack the party officials who commissioned research on Labor MPs by former ALP staffer Robert Hough, whose work reportedly included claims about some politicians' sexuality, sex lives, drinking habits and health matters. Parliament also heard claims today that the original files also included details of the schools of the children of government MPs. Senior LNP figures including president Bruce RELATED CONTENT Mclver and aspiring premier Campbell the 11. 1 ...... ....._ _ _ .......... ,. .... _ ~ - ... ~ .... -: ..... ~ 1 ...- ..........:-- .... l.. ...... .... Hough hassles Labor: 2124/2016 LNP's dirty deed docs 'belong in the 1950s' l'llt:Wllldll y t::.u:1uay Ut:Jllt:U IUlUWUll;; dUUUl LNP's deep throat Most Popular the dirt files until The Courier-Mail raised the matter this week. Beattie stunned by political muckraking 1 Traffic easing along They said LNP campaign director James Logan Motorway ... McGrath and state director Michael O'Dwyer had been "strongly reprimanded" for commissioning the $3075 2 Ex-cop to be ch ::.ra<>ri research but would not be sacked. with major frau• FEEDBACK l llt: t:.X.UdLl UI lilt: Ult: Ull JVll LULd:> includes routine background details about his political history but also Follow Brisbane Times notes that he was adopted and has epilepsy. r CU30LJK 1\ "T H MOR_ "What campaign purpose was this ..... going to be put to?" Ms Bligh asked. Br.sbane 1 imes Liked 33K l<e!> "These are the attitudes of the bt 1950s. They have no place in .... modern [campaigning)." Former federal Liberal MP Michael Johnson. SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER As Ms Bligh repeatedly called on LNP MPs to demand the officials Get notified when the big t hings happen. Sign up to our newsletter. involved be sacked, parliamentary opposition leader Jeff Seeney interjected to highlight Mr Hough's former Labor party role. "It was a Labor party candidate [who wrote the files]," Mr Seeney said. "He was one of your chosen ones." Ms Bligh said: "He is right. The person concerned here is a former member of the Labor party, but that doesn't make anything about this right. "Every decent Queenslander knows it and until one decent member of the LNP [stands up] to right this wrong it remains as a stain and blot on them." In Parliament, Deputy Premier Andrew Fraser disputed Mr Mclver's claim he did not know about the files, citing a report in The Australian that LNP treasurer Barry O'Sullivan, who was close to Mr Mclver, was also aware of Mr Hough's role. In a fiery afternoon speech to Parliament, Parliamentary Opposition Leader Jeff Seeney tried to push some of the blame onto the ALP, citing dirt digger Mr Hough's former role in that party. "ThP nnn <;Pn<;P wP 1VP <:PPn in thic: n::irli::imPnt thi<; mnrnim> hPliP<; 2124/2016 LNP's dirty deed docs 'belong in the 1950s' the fact that this was their dirt, this was their dirt, 11 he said of the ALP. "The LNP did not use it [the dirt files] for our advantage, the LNP will not use it for our advantage. " The next speaker, Labor MP Carolyn Male, said Mr Seeney's speech was a "most disgraceful" contribution. Files 'shredded' Queensland's Liberal National Party says it has shredded and deleted all copies of its dirt files on Labor MPs following yesterday's political uproar over the documents. The action came after the state government leapt on LNP president Bruce Mclver's declaration the party would simply delete offensive personal comments from the dossiers, rather than totally destroy them as leader Campbell Newman had insisted. Labor figures yesterday lined up to condemn the LNP over revelations it had paid $3075 to former Labor staffer and federal candidate Robert Hough to prepare "dirt files" on ALP members. Although Mr Mciver said the majority of the analysis focused on performance and campaign issues already in the public arena, Mr Newman apologised for the "sleazy" documents which in some cases contained claims about the sex lives, sexuality and family breakdowns of government MPs. Mr Newman, who has been scathing of government "dirt" gathering over the past month, told reporters yesterday he did not know about the existence of the dossiers until media enquiries this week. An angry Mr Newman sought to draw a line in the sand, calling for a political ceasefire from both parties on sleaze and telling his party's organisational wing the documents "must be shredded". However, in a statement issued yesterday afternoon, Mr Mciver said the majority of Mr Hough's documents related to the campaigning and performance of Labor MPs and ministers. "This information, which every political party gathers, is largely in the public domain and, in many instances, has already been reported by the media," Mr Mciver said. "A small number of the SWOT [Stren gths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats] analyses contain comments and observations of a nature that are the personal view of the author and were deemed inappropriate and no use has been made of them. "These comments are being removed from the report and will not be retained." Government MPs including Mr Newman's rival in the seat of Ashgrove, Kate Jones, and Deputy Premier Andrew Fraser said the LNP had backed away from Mr Newman's commitment to destroy the documents in their entirety. But the LNP later tweeted that it had indeed destroyed the documents. \..u-. 14 ........ h .. :,.. ..... ...."" .... +; ........ ""'... ,...,...._.. ..... ,/...,, ,,.. v ........... 1.... .....,..1 1.. u ·.... ~ ,..; ..+,., rll"'V"V"4 rll"V"c- - hol l"'VV"'-i "'-+h.ct._ 10"1"\e _ ? n111n1?_1llnv h tml?c::Lrin :c:: mort ... n h f'\r\Q. '>.f7 2124/2016 LNP's dirty deed docs 'belong in the 1950s' "Each and every page from the SWOT analysis has been shredded today," the party tweeted. "Digital files were also destroyed." 'Diva' among dirt file claims However, The Courier-Mail today published extracts from the documents which it said it had edited to remove salacious or defamatory content. The LNP said it was not the source of the leak to the media. Most of the edited documents appear to generally contain simple factual background on the history of MPs or opinions about their strengths and weaknesses. However, Environment Minister Vicky Darling is described as "lazy and a bit of a diva at times". Some ministers are said to have volatile tempers while MP family tensions are also mentioned in the documents. According to one dirt file published by The Courier-Mail, Mt Ommaney MP Julie Attwood "can fall asleep in Parliament". Government MPs yesterday argued the at-times salacious dirt files compiled for the LNP went beyond the normal research activities routinely done by political parties and struck a " new low" in Australian politics. Mr Fraser, who in recent weeks led the government's attacks on Mr Newman over his and his family's financial interests, said there was a big difference between asking legitimate questions about accountability and the LNP's dirt files containing gossip and rumours about sex lives. He demanded LNP campaign director James McGrath and state director Michael O'Dwyer be sacked over their involvement in commissioning the research, but Mr Newman said they had been "strongly reprimanded" rather than dismissed. "If they do anything like this again, I'll be demanding their scalps then," Mr Newman said. "It is not acceptable. I absolutely reject this [behaviour) and it will not happen again." Mr Hough, who prepared the files, last night contradicted claims that only two LNP officials were involved in hiring him to do the work late last year. He told The Australian LNP treasurer Barry 0' Sullivan was initially involved in attempting to lure him. "In the beginning of it, I spoke to Michael O'Dwyer and then he set up the first meeting with Barry O'Sullivan to talk with me about what I could do," Mr Hough told The Australian. "But O'Sullivan pulled out at the last minute and it was James McGrath who showed up." Former federal Liberal MP Michael Johnson, dumped by the LNP last year for bringing the party into disrepute, yesterday joined calls for 1- ... ... ~ ... ._ _ --11 - -· - - •l-~ _ ... ... 1 ... ... : ... - - ... L ...3!-... J:: t ...... - - T ... l... - -1'trn ... 417 2/24/2016 LNP's dirty deed docs 'belong in the 1950s' UedUS LU lUll uve1 Lile leVeldllUllS Ul Ulll llleS Ull LdUUl lVlt'S. Mr Johnson told brisbanetimes.com.au Mr Mclver should stand down for allowing the LNP to carry out such work. However, Mr Mclver said he had no knowledge of the files on Labor politicians prior to being told of their existence on Tuesday. Mr Mclver insisted the documents mostly contained legitimate details about MP performance and campaigning, with only some portions featuring "inappropriate" personal comments. He said the party had "tightened up our procedures to ensure any material of a salacious nature will never be accepted by the LNP".
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