Legislative Assembly Number: . Hon Steven Miles MP Tabled RT Minister for Health and Queensland Minister for Ambulance Services Government Clerk's Signature:

1 William Street Brisbane Old 4000 GPO Box 48 Brisbane Queensland 4001 Australia Telephone +61 7 3035 6100 Facsimile +61 7 3220 6231

The Honourable MP Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Parliament House George Street BRISBANE QLD 4000

By Email: [email protected]

Dear Mr Speaker

I wish to draw to Mr Speaker’s attention a matter of privilege arising out of a statement made in relation to birthing kits by the Leader of the and Shadow Minister for Trade, the Member for Nanango, Mrs MP during her Matters of Public Interest contribution on Tuesday, 2 April 2019.

Mr Speaker, I submit that in making this statement to which I refer below, the member for Nanango has deliberately mislead the House and is in contempt of the Queensland Parliament, in particular Standing Order 266 of the Standing Rules and Orders of the Legislative Assembly.

There are three elements to be proven in order to establish that a Member of the Legislative Assembly has committed the contempt of deliberately misleading the House:

1. The statement must have been misleading; 2. The Member making the statement must have known, at the time the statement was made, that it was incorrect; and 3. In making the statement, the Member intended to mislead the House.

Section 37 of the Act 2001 sets out the meaning of contempt of the Assembly thus:

(1) Contempt of the Assembly means a breach or disobedience of the powers, rights or immunities, or a contempt, of the Assembly or its members or committees. (2) Conduct, including words, is not contempt of the Assembly unless it amounts, or is intended or likely to amount, to an improper interference with— (a) the free exercise by the Assembly or a committee of its authority or functions; or (b) the free performance by a member of the member’s duties as a member.

Standing Order 266 of the Standing Rules and Orders of the Legislative Assembly sets out examples of what might constitute a contempt of the Queensland Parliament and, whilst not limiting the power of the House to the matters contained therein, includes a reference in sub-paragraph (2), to: deliberately misleading the House or a committee (by way of submission, statement, evidence or petition).

As outlined, there are three elements to be proven in order to establish that a Member has committed the contempt of deliberately misleading the House. I will address each of these in turn.

1 The statement must have been misleading

Qn 2 April 2019 the Member for Nanango during her Matters of Public Interest contribution stated, (Attachment 1);

'We have seen doctors forced to give mothers DIY birthing kits because Labor has shut maternity services in the bush"

This statement is recorded at page 944 of the official record of proceedings (Hansard).

This statement is factually incorrect as the birthing kits are not provided to patients, they are instead provided to nurses in hospitals to assist patients. They are not provided to mothers as "DIY birthing kits” as stated by the Member for Nanango; this is evident from my response to a question without notice on 28 March 2019 on this same matter where I stated (Attachment 2):

"... birthing kits to be used by nurses in the hospital are to be stocked. These birthing kits are so that nurses have available to them anything they need in the case of an imminent birth."

"... These are do-it-by-nurse birthing packs for use in hospitals."

During that response I tabled correspondence dated 27 March 2019 from the Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service Chief Executive, Mr Steve Williamson to the Director-General of Queensland Health (Attachment 3), which stated in the first paragraph:

“Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service does not and will not distribute birthing kits to women".

As such, the statement made by the Member for Nanango is factually incorrect and indeed misleading.

2 The member making the statement must have known, at the time the statement was made, that it was incorrect

As stated above, during Question Time on Thursday, 28 March 2019 the Liberal National Party Member for Callide, Mr MP asked me the following question, recorded at page 830 of Hansard, extracted below (Attachment 2):

Mr BOYCE: My question is to the Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services. I table a letter from the Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service.

Tabled paper: Letter, dated 7 March 2019, from the Executive Director, Central Queensiand Hospitai and Health Service, Ms Sandy Munro, regarding maternity services.

The letter states—

Couid I please request you to establish and implement the imminent birthing protocols, together with relevant equipment and/or packs for Theodore?

Can the minister confirm whether do-it-yourself birthing kits will be issued to expectant mothers at Theodore?

2 My response to this question without notice is recorded at pages 830 and 831 of Hansard where I refuted the claim made by the Member for Callide and tabled evidence from the Chief Executive of the Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service attesting so.

The record shows that the Member for Nanango was present during Question Time on Thursday. 28 March 2019 which is evidenced by the:

Member for Nanango’s two questions to the Premier and Minister for Trade recorded on pages 821 and 822 of the official recording of proceedings; and

• Member for Nanango's interjection during the aforementioned question, which is recorded on page 830 of the official recording of proceedings when, Mr Speaker, you warned the Member for Nanango for the waving of documents.

Therefore, as the Member for Nanango's statement during her Matters of Public Interest contribution was on the exact same topic as her own member’s question the previous week, coupled with the fact that she was present in the House for my response and the tabling of the document which categorically refuted the assertion. I submit that the Member for Nanango must necessarily have known that her statement was incorrect.

3 In making the statement, the Member intended to mislead the House

Mr Speaker, having established that the statement made by the Member for Nanango is misleading, and that she knew it to be misleading, it must now be established that the Member for Nanango intended to mislead the House.

The negative imputation that the government is not providing adequate health services to rural and regional areas has been the subject of a political campaign by the Opposition over a period of time. The idea that women are being provided with home birthing kits in these areas because proper hospital services are not available, whilst erroneous, fits this narrative.

Despite having been disabused of this mistaken belief a matter of a week earlier, the Member for Nanango has disregarded the facts as provided through my verbal answer to the question without notice as well as the tabled document, to repeat, as a matter of unquestionable fact, the disputed allegation.

There is undoubted political advantage in repeating this assertion. The Member for Nanango, despite having been advised that the assertion was wrong and having written evidence provided to refute it, has nonetheless chosen to disregard the evidence and repeat the untrue statement, thereby deliberately misleading the House.

David McGee in Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand states that for misleading of the House to be deliberate:

... there must be something in the nature of the incorrect statement that indicates an intention to mislead. Remarks made off the cuff in debate can rarely fall into this category, nor can matters about which the member can be aware only in an official capacity. But where the member can be assumed to have personal knowledge of the state facts and made the statement in a situation of some formality (for example, by way of personal explanation), a presumption of an intention to mislead the House will more readily arise”.

Mr Speaker, the Member for Nanango was making a formal speech to the House during Matters of Public Interest. The member was reading from a pre-prepared script, using a lectern (Attachment 4)

3 and was surrounded by her Liberal National Party colleagues. I have also been advised that the speech was live streamed and posted in its entirety on the members official Facebook page.

As such, I submit that the fact that the speech was not off the cuff and was delivered in a formal manner with a lectern and surrounded by the member’s colleagues leads to one conclusion; that the Member for Nanango intended to deliberately mislead the House for political advantage.

Considering the arguments and the fact that the Member for Nanango has not taken any of the available opportunities to correct the record and has subsequently reposted the entire video online via Facebook, I respectfully submit that this matter warrants the further attention of the House by referral to the Ethics Committee.

I further submit that, pending your consideration of this matter, the Member for Nanango be requested to remove the offending material from her social media sites. Given the nature of social media, if the material is allowed to remain, the harm is already done and cannot be negated by a referral by the Speaker to the Ethics Committee, or the subsequent voluntary removal of the material by the Member for Nanango.

In this digital age, it is my concern that when material that offends Standing Orders is posted on social media sites, it receives the vast majority of views within the first couple of days. The process of writing to the Speaker, and the Member being asked to respond to the allegation, takes some time. If the Member then voluntarily removes the offending material, there are often no repercussions, and the material has already had its desired effect given its immediacy.

Even if the Member voluntarily removes the material down the track, it is my assertion that the Ethics Committee should still consider the issue, as othenwise there are no real consequences for deliberate and blatant misleading of the House.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or my Chief of Staff Danielle Cohen should you require any further information to assist in your consideration of this matter. I commend my letter to your thoughtful consideration.

Yours sincerely

STEVEN MILES MP Minister for Health Minister for Ambulance Services

4 Attachment 1 - Extract: Matters of Public Interest, 2 April 2019

MATTERS OF PUBLIC INTEREST

Health System; Quirk, Lord Mayor 6 Mrs FRECKLINGTON (Nanango—LNP) (Leader of the Opposition) (2.00 pm): Queenslanders expect their health system to care for them when they are sick, but last week the sick were turned away from emergency departments. Queenslanders turned up to hear that their hospitals in the south-east comer were full. Our health system in Queensland was plunged into a full-scale crisis. It was unprecedented, but was simply not a surprise. Labor's health crisis has been building since the day the member for Inala was elected as Premier in this state. We have seen corridors crammed with patients on stretchers because there are no beds left. We have seen doctors forced to give mothers DIY birthing kits because Labor has shut maternity services in the bush. We have seen cancerous transplant tissue given to four children. I have stood side by side the mother of a child who had chemo in the kitchen of the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital. Regional towns are crying out for more doctors and more nurses. Ambulance ramping has jumped to 25 per cent. Nothing is worse than Labor telling Queenslanders that their hospitals are full. Nothing could be worse than that. Labor then blamed the patients for the hospitals being full. The hospitals ran out of beds, but the Premier never runs out of excuses. The Premier first of all blamed the federal government. Then she blamed the winter flu, but no it was the summer flu. Then the Premier blamed the elderly. It was a national embarrassment. No other state is experiencing any form of health crisis like what we are seeing in Queensland. Simon Judkins, the president of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, called it a crisis. We had Beth Mohle of the Queensland Nurses Union call it a crisis. But the Premier said, 'No, they are wrong. There is nothing to see here.' The Premier in fact said, 'The system was working Just as it was intended.’ It may be how the Palaszczuk government intends the health system to work, but it certainly is not how the LNP and every Queenslander expects their health to work. It is an arrogant government that blames everyone but themselves. Now everyone in Queensland knows what a code yellow is thanks to the Labor government. We then had the health minister come out and say, 'The hospitals have returned to normal. Nothing to see here.' What did we see of the health minister? He finished last week by posting on social media that he was having a cup of coffee. It was like, 'I’ve had such a big day. I need to sit, give myself a pat on the back and have a coffee.' What the health minister should have been doing was thanking the hardworking doctors, nurses and administration staff who had to battle this crisis. He should have thanked the patients for having patience and for waiting for the Palaszczuk government to fix up the crisis made by the Palaszczuk government. They are the people who need a break and not this health minister giving himself a nice little pat on the back and having a cup coffee. Queenslanders deserve a government that is going to put the health of Queenslanders first. The only priority of those opposite when it comes to health is ripping the name of Lady Cilento down off the children's hospital. The LNP would never waste taxpayers' money. We are the ones listening to the concerns of front-line health workers.

5 Attachment 2 - Extract; Question Time, 28 March 2019

Theodore, Maternity Services Mr BOYCE: My question is to the Minister tor Health and Minister for Ambulance Services. I table a letter from the Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service. Tabled paper. Letter, dated 7 Match 2019, from the Executive Director, Central Queensland Hospital artd Health Service, Ms Sand^ Munro, regarding maternity services. The letter states—

Could I please request you to establish and implement the Imminent birthing protocols, together with relevant equipment and/or packs for Theodore? Can the minister confirm whettter do-it-yourself birthing kits will be issued to expectant mothers at Theodore? Dr MILES: I have to feel a bit sorry for the member for Caliide for doubling down on bus one, but let's get into it. He has his letter, two days later, but he is still confused. The letter he quotes does not refer to the kind of kits the member for Caliide refers to. I am happy to table for the benefit of the House an explanation from the chief executive of the Central Queensland health service that at all level 1 birthing services in the CQHHS—that includes Theodore, Moura, Blackwater, Springsure, Woorabinda, Capricorn Coast and Mount Morgan—birthing kits to be used by nurses in the hospital are to be stocked. These birthing kits are so that the nurses have available to them anything they need in the case of an imminent birth. They have three clamps, scissors, swabs and a kidney dish. These packs— Mr Millar interjected. Mr SPEAKER: Member for Gregory, you are warned under the standing orders. The minister is being responsive to the question. Dr MILES: I take that interjection. The member for Caliide accused us of issuing DIY birthing kits to mothers. These are do-it-by-nurse birthing packs for use in hospitals. Opposition members interjected. Mr SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition, I will not tolerate the waving around of documents, either by the member on their feet or by another member. You are warned under the standing orders. Dr MILES: The birthing packs are essential at all facilities, regardless of sen/ice capability. The packs save time in the case of imminent births and are designed to be used by trained and qualified medical and nursing staff. They are not designed to be given to women.

The clear facts are contrary to the claims made by the members for Caliide, Mudgeeraba, Nanango and Gregory. This is about ensuring that those services have the tools they need in the case of an imminent birth. They are nothing more than that. I am also advised that a plastic cord clamp is provided separately but is not a standard inclusion in the CQ pack, although other HHSs may include them. The plastic clamp is not considered a vital time-saving piece of equipment, as the other pieces are. I am very pleased to be able to table that correspondence and to clarify die ridiculous claims being made by the member for Caliide.

Tabled paper. Letter, dated 27 March 2019, from the Health Service Chief Executive. Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Mr Steve Wlllianison. to the Director-General. Queensland Health. Mr Michael Walsh, regarding birthing kits.

6 Attachment 3 - Tabled Document During Question Time, 28 March 2019

Queensland r

Queensland Legislative Assembly Mr Michael Walsh Director-General Number: Queensland Health ® 2 8 MAR 2019 QPOBOX48 BRISBANE OLD 4001 (lertiliStanahtft;

DearMpAMfsh

Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service does not and will not distribute birthing kits to women. The health service fadlilies are well-prepared through the provision of appropriate training and complete the necessary preparation for birthing and Imminent birthing across all facilities.

Birthing padts are essential at all facilities regardless of service capability. The packs save time In the case of imminent births and are designed to be used by trained and qualified medical end nursing staff. They are not designed to give to women.

The packs are available at all Central Queensland hospitals and MPHS sites, including our Level 1 services at: ■ Theodore - Moura - Blackwater ■ Spfingsure - Woorabtnda • Capricorn Coast, and - Mt Morgan.

in Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service the birthing packs include; - 3 xclamps/forceps - Scissors - Swabs - Kidney dish

A plastic cord clamp Is provided separately and not as a standard inclusion In the Central Queensland pack, though other HHSs may include the plastic clamp. The plastic clamp is not a vital, time-saving piece o( equipment.

Cenbei OtiMulind HosfAsI end Hullh Senloe Tetiphene *t1<07)4«20eiS2 Cenrring Street. Rockhenvlvi weiaiie KuvcabeellltcWaaw PO BMart, Rackhamplnn OuemUend 4700 AuilrWIe

7 Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service is oommitled Io providing safe and sustainable birthing services dose to home.

Steve Williamson Health Service Chief ExecuHve Central Queenaland Hospital and Health Service Adjunct Professor CQ University 27/03/2019

8 Attachment 4 - Screen Capture: Member for Nanango - Matter of Public Interest, 2 April 2019

Mrs Deb Frecklington (LNP) h /I ry r't'i 1A i~\ r M a cs n ri rx

9