Premier Steven Miles has batted away allegations he only acts on matters of integrity due to media scrutiny as “untrue”.
Opposition energy spokeswoman Deb Frecklington noted Mr Miles had apologised to the House about the text message he sent to Ali King MP after being contacted by the media.
And that he had addressed the concerns surrounding former Labor MP Kate Jones’ ties to the government after news articles were written.
“Why does the Miles government only act on issues of integrity after being contacted by the media?” she asked.
Mr Miles said her “allegations are untrue” and left it at that.
Premier apologises over controversial image as parliament returns
Queensland Parliament is in chaos on Tuesday as the government and opposition trade barbs over the Premier's "lie" and "intimidation" of MP Ali King. QUESTION TIME BLOG
Queensland Parliament is in chaos on Tuesday as the government and opposition trade barbs over the Premier's "lie" and "intimidation" of MP Ali King.
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Updates
'Untrue': Premier bats away suggestion he only acts when media says so
'Lowball offers': Opposition claims flood buyback scheme failure
Flood-impacted homeowners in Ipswich felt “bullied into agreeing to lowball offers” as part of the government’s flood buyback scheme, according to the state’s Opposition.
Shadow housing spokesman Tim Mander said the residents of Mi Hi Grove have lost trust in the government after being assured they would be “promised a fair go and generous valuations” when nominating to be part of the flood mitigation measure.
“Why won't the Palaszczuk-Miles government pay Ipswich flood victims what they were promised?” he asked the Premier.
Steven Miles confirmed to Parliament offers had been made to residents in the community in Mi Hi Grove which had been complicated due to some residents being willing to be part of the scheme while others rejected it.
“We worked with Ipswich City Council to find a way we could terminate the body corporate scheme and pay them all out,” he said.
The Premier said he had become aware in recent weeks that some residents had disputed the valuation offered.
“There is an established process for valuing these properties, both in the pre-flood and post-flood terms, and there is an opportunity for owners to challenge those valuations and a process in place there,” Mr Miles said.
The Premier said he would instruct Disaster Recovery Minister Nikki Boyd to provide an update on the matter.
'Utmost of caution': Premier writes to Integrity Commissioner amid lobbyist furore
Premier Steven Miles has approached Integrity Commissioner Linda Waugh over his interactions with Labor factional heavyweight Kate Jones amid her reported links to a lobby firm.
Mr Miles confirmed he had met with Ms Jones three times for official business meetings since she left Parliament at the 2020 election.
Those meetings had been disclosed as per the requirements of his ministerial diary, but out of the “utmost of caution” Mr Miles confirmed he had written to the Integrity Commissioner.
“I have asked her to confirm that the steps I have taken comply with all the legal requirements,” he said.
“I take my responsibilities under all of those acts very seriously.”
Mr Miles also referred to a statement released by Ms Jones on Tuesday morning outlining her resignation from Akin Agency, which is on the list of registered lobby firms in Queensland.
Premier attempts text 'lie' distraction with LNP attack
Deputy Opposition Leader Jarrod Bleijie has asked the premier whether he was sorry for misleading Queenslanders, or simply sorry it "came to light".
Mr Bleijie then asked why didn't the premier correct the record earlier.
The Premier said the custom in the house was to correct the record "as soon as they are alerted" of an issue and noted he had written to the Speaker about the error within an hour after becoming aware of it.
The government is attempting to distract from the premier's "lie" by prosecuting how the text came to light – an unsolicited photo of Ali King's phone.
"This is women's week," Mr Miles said.
He's asking how many other secret photos of women the LNP has taken and claiming they are today "celebrating" the "harassment" of women.
Premier attempts to deflect text fiasco
Steven Miles has dismissed another question about the text fiasco, insisting he only became aware his comments in parliament last year were dishonest when aired by Nine News last night.
The Premier instead dug out Right to Information documents from 2014 featuring Deputy Opposition Leader Jarrod Bleijie, who had supposedly declined to reveal documents due to the content being non-existent.
Mr Miles told Parliament his political rival responded at the time to the RTI request that emails were “most often simply delete once they’re received”.
“They just delete them all and that's why there were no documents in existence out there,” the Premier said.
'Slippery Steve' takes aim at 'outrageous misuse' of phone
The focus of Question Time is shaping to be an attack on Premier Steven Miles’ integrity, with Mr Crisafulli pressing on the right-to-information search relating to Mr Miles’ texts to Ali King.
Premier Steven Miles has since apologised for wrongly claiming he had not sent a text to Ms King on October 11.
But Mr Crisafulli notes the right to information request would have required sign-off from a number of people, so how can the Premier rule out there wasn’t a deliberate move to mislead?
Mr Miles noted the RTI came back noting “no documents” were considered “in-scope” of the request, signalling the way the question was worded excluded the text message – prompting an LNP MP to label him "Slippery Steve".
He then takes aim at the “outrageous misuse” of a mobile phone in parliament on October 11 to take a photo of Ms King’s phone.
Premier to visit tent city 'as soon as I can'
Steven Miles has declared he will visit a tent city in his electorate “as soon I can” after it was revealed working Queenslanders were sleeping in a park as the state’s housing crisis escalates.
The Courier-Mail revealed the makeshift community had steadily grown in the last 12 months and is just 8km from Steven Miles’s electorate office in Kallangur north of Brisbane.
The Premier told Parliament he was “incredibly concerned” to hear of people sleeping rough in his own electorate but insisted the critical response team from the government’s Housing Department had visited the community a number of times.
He said sleeping rough in a park was “certainly no place for children to live”.
“They attended the site as recently as yesterday and will visit again today,” Mr Miles said.
“I understand some people have accepted emergency housing. Others have declined.
“I am committed to visiting as soon as I can, alongside our hard working critical response team.
“I want to hear their stories and deliver the support needed to get these vulnerable Queenslanders back on their feet.”
The Premier insisted Labor MP Chris Whiting, whose electorate office is across the road from the park, had visited the community.
“Chris has been incredibly engaged on this matter and his office has provided daily support to these vulnerable Queenslanders,” Mr Miles said.
Crisafulli asks Miles: How can we trust you?
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli has opened question time with a question to Premier Steven Miles why Queenslanders can "trust any answers the premier gives today?"
"They can trust me and those on this side of the house to deliver on what they are concerned about," he said.
The premier then waded deep into the government's priorities for the state.
Greens MP on extended leave after horror crash
Greens MP Dr Amy MacMahon will not return to parliament until at least early April after a horror crash left her with serious injuries.
Speaker Curtis Pitt confirmed Dr MacMahon would be absent until “at least early April”. Under the rules an MP being absent from parliament for more than 12 sitting days requires a motion to be passed in parliament.
“As members are aware, the member for South Brisbane was involved in a serious car accident. Medical evidence provided to me indicates Dr McMahon's length of absence may be such that a motion… may be required to grant a leave of absence,” he said.
“I'm sure that all members of the House will join me in wishing her a speedy recovery.”
Dr MacMahon, on social media last week, thanked the community for their ongoing support.
“Firstly, thank you so much for all the well wishes, flowers, cards, snacks and gifts, and the amazing care of the doctors and nurses since I’ve been in hospital. I’m feeling lucky and supported, and so grateful for how kind and caring our community has been,” she said.
“You might have seen, I was involved in a car accident after leaving one of our free community dinners in Raymond Park a couple of weeks ago. I was taken directly to hospital from the accident, where I have been recovering ever since.
“I’m still very sore, have injuries that are still healing, bruises and I’m pretty tired – but I’m now able to walk around, read, joke with my family, have some little trips to the shops and eat the delicious snacks friends have dropped off for me.”
Dr MacMahon said that she will be “out of action” for the time being while she continues to recover.
“But my team is still in my office keeping everything ticking along until I’m back on board – so if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out to them. They’ll also be running my Facebook, Instagram and emails while I’m out of action, to keep everyone updated on local and state issues,” she said.
'You're a flea': Parliament erupts over text 'intimidation' scandal
Queensland Parliament is in chaos on Tuesday as the government and opposition trade barbs over the premier's 'lie' and "intimidation" of MP Ali King.
Premier Steven Miles apologised for wrongly claiming he had not sent a text to Ms King on October 11.
LNP MP Michael Hart rose after Mr Miles's statement, to declare "I don't accept the apology".
His interjection was met with a furious response.
"You're a flea," Assistant Minister Bruce Saunders yelled.
Speaker Curtis Pitt argued, to maintain the "dignity" of the parliament, Mr Hart would be booted for one hour.
The scandal was sparked by a photo taken of Ms King's phone by a member of parliament on October 11 while the house was sitting.
Ms King, an Assistant Minister, told parliament she would refer the image secretly taken of her phone to the powerful Ethics Committee.
"This is a serious breach of the rights and privilege of a member of this house," she said.
Ms King said the image of her phone amounted "to a serious and deliberate contempt of this parliament" and likened it to "intimidation" of an MP.
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