Claim Labor MP used taxpayer funds to ‘weaponise’ OIA

An experienced government MP has been accused of lodging ‘weak’ complaints to the Office of the Independent Assessor in a long-running feud with a former councillor.

A Palaszczuk Government MP has been accused of using taxpayer-funded resources in contributing to the “weaponisation” of the Office of the Independent Assessor after making several complaints about a Redlands councillor.

Former Redlands representative Paul Gleeson was subject to about 30 complaints to the OIA between 2016 and 2020, for which about half were substantiated.

Mr Gleeson claims Chief Government Whip Don Brown, the Labor Member for Capalaba, lodged about a dozen complaints with the council watchdog – and recalled only a handful were proven.

He said Mr Brown would lodge a complaint and then use “taxpayer-funded resources” to promote he was under investigation.

“He’d lodge a complaint and then, on a parliament letterhead, would letterbox drop across my community that Cr Gleeson had another complaint made against him calling on me to resign,” he said.

“Before it was even assessed by the OIA he would put these flyers out on taxpayer expenses saying a complaint had been made – the OIA was absolutely weaponised.”

Former Redlands councillor Paul Gleeson had 17 charges upheld.

However, Mr Brown said he had only notified the community of charges laid against the councillor and, when asked about the use of his electorate printing resources to criticise Mr Gleeson, said he had merely “kept constituents up to date with the findings of the tribunal and his track record”.

“We want the best people possible representing our community,” Mr Brown said.

“To make out he is some sort of OIA martyr … is a joke.”

It comes after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Friday revealed the conduct of the OIA would be scrutinised under a parliamentary committee following days of damning complaints about the watchdog revealed by The Courier-Mail.

Mr Brown said he could not recall how many complaints he made against the councillor, but thought it may have been three – with two of those substantiated.

“Paul Gleeson’s track record as a councillor and his complaints are well documented even before the OIA was formed,” Mr Brown said.

“They (complaints) weren’t all from me, they were from other councillors and members of the public.”

Mr Gleeson was found guilty of misconduct on at least 17 occasions and fined more than $3000 – including for one incident when the OIA found he threatened legal action against a woman who had previously complained against him.

Chief Government Whip Don Brown said he was keeping his community informed about Mr Gleeson’s conduct. Photo: File

The former councillor said on one occasion the OIA launched an investigation after he ‘liked’ a Facebook post criticising Mr Brown.

“They’re trophy hunters trying to justify their own existence,” he said of the OIA.

“I was the most complained about councillor in Queensland from 2016 to 2020.

“I had a target on my back.”

On another occasion Mr Gleeson said he was found guilty of misconduct for naming and questioning the environmental credentials of councillors who had subdivided land.

“It was a fact, they had … but the OIA deemed I’d brought council into disrepute,” he said.