Mick de Brenni forced to correct diary over body corporate meeting

Queensland Minister Mick de Brenni has been forced to correct his official diary in relation to a meeting with a Gold Coast body corporate boss.

Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni has been forced to correct his official diary after it said departmental staff met with a body corporate chairwoman when they had not.

Mr de Brenni wrote to Opposition Leader David Crisafulli on March 8 to inform him that his diary had been amended and that staff within his office had been counselled.

It comes after the opposition last year raised questions about a meeting with Toni Bowler, the body corporate chairwoman for Gold Coast building complex Kirra Vista, on September 6, 2019.

It had earlier been revealed that the Queensland Building and Construction Commission had acted within hours of Mr de Brenni’s meeting with Ms Bowler – who had met with him to discuss a sports facility in her community.

Ms Bowler also raised concerns about cracks in the Kirra Vista building, allegedly caused by construction work next door.

Queensland Minister Mick de Brenni. File picture: NCA NewsWire / John Gass

The opposition had grilled Mr de Brenni over why he had acted so quickly and informed the QBCC, and why he had said it was a constituent meeting when his ministerial diary had listed departmental and ministerial staff in attendance.

“The ministerial diary reflects that because at the time I was minister for sport and she came to talk to me about a sports facility in her community,” he said in parliament on October 14 last year.

In a question on notice late last year, Mr de Brenni said details of departmental staff who attended the meeting were not held by his office and directed the opposition to Sports Minister Stirling Hinchliffe.

However, in a question on notice released last week, Mr Hinchliffe revealed no departmental staff attended the meeting.

Mr de Brenni’s diary now shows that he met with Ms Bowler and ministerial staff.

Kirra Vista at Kirra on the Gold Coast. Picture Glenn Hampson

In a letter to Mr Crisafulli, Mr de Brenni wrote that while a departmental staff member had been asked to attend, the Tourism, Innovation and Sport Department did not hold any information indicating one did.

“In consideration of this new information and in the interest of transparency, it now appears clear that there is a mistake in the diary extract,” the letter reads.

He wrote that he had taken action to amend the diary.

LNP backbencher Michael Hart slammed Mr de Brenni: “He tells us one thing but now one of his ministerial colleagues come back with something completely different.”