Speaker a no-show as regional parliament falters in bizarre circumstances

Speaker Curtis Pitt has been forced to leave a parliamentary sitting early, after a bizarre late arrival, due to illness. He confirmed he attended a function last night.

Queensland Speaker Curtis Pitt has left a parliamentary sitting in Cairns early after arriving late in bizarre scenes on Tuesday morning, due to illness.

Mr Pitt said he was “not well” and would not be able perform his duties as speaker for the rest of the sitting or attend a planned function later today.

“There’s an event that’s on today that I probably won’t attend because I’m not well,” he told reporters after leaving the floor of parliament.

Speaker of the House and Member for Mulgrave Curtis Pitt appeared unwell during the regional sitting of Queensland parliament, held at the Cairns Convention Centre. Picture: Brendan Radke

Mr Pitt confirmed he attended government functions on Monday evening.

Multiple sources have confirmed Mr Pitt was on Monday night at Villa Romana, a “breezy beachfront all-day Italian cafe” located inside the Mantra Trilogy hotel, which shuts at 10pm.

The Courier-Mail understands the morning’s Welcome to Country was delayed for about 20 minutes as politicians and media waited for the Speaker to arrive – but he didn’t show up.

Deputy Speaker Joe Kelly was forced to step in and begin the parliamentary sitting – which begins strictly at 9.30am.

Villa Romana in Cairns, where Speaker Curtis Pitt was seen dining on Monday night.

Mr Pitt finally showed up about 45 minutes later, but made no mention of why he was so late or where he had been.

Asked by The Courier-Mail why he was late for the first day of regional parliament on Tuesday, Mr Pitt said he was “unwell”.

“Unfortunately none of us are immune from being sick,” the Speaker said via a text message.

This week’s parliamentary sitting is being held in Cairns, with the state’s politicians travelling there and staying in the regional city for the week.

MPs, as part of regional parliament, are being housed across three hotels in Cairns — the Mantra, the Hilton and the Shangri-La.

Speaker Curtis Pitt at Queensland’s Youth parliament on the evening of April 15. He arrived 25 minutes late. Picture: Instagram/@elahielahi

It can be revealed Mr Pitt was about 25 minutes late to a session of Queensland’s Youth parliament on the evening of April 15.

Footage from the night shows him taking to the lectern and apologising to the audience of high school students and other young people for “the fact that I’m a bit late”.

“I’ve been on a personal phone call which I was unable to not be on, so I appreciate your graciousness,” he said.

$20,000 HANDOUT TO BOOST POLICE RECRUITS

The Queensland Police Service will offer up to $20,000 to lure interstate officers in the latest move by the Palaszczuk government to increase numbers.

The new scheme will also include a contribution for the government of $20,000 towards the HECS debt of a number of eligible tertiary graduate applicants.

Police have struggled to strengthen officer numbers as forced retirements rise and the state government falls behind an election commitment to increase the service by 1450 officers by 2025.

Up to $20,000 will be offered to lure interstate officers.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the new $90 million package at regional parliament in Cairns on Tuesday morning to attract recruits and other trained officers from other states.

“Officers trained in other jurisdiction internationally and within Australia who come to work in Queensland will receive up to $20,000 in staged payments,” she said.

“And students studying in targeted university courses in Queensland will also be able to claim up to $20,000 in staged payments.”

The announcement comes after the state government struck a deal with the Commonwealth in February to access hundreds of international recruits to bolster its police force.

The labour agreement was aimed at recruiting up to 500 cops a year for five years without the requirement to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

AG CONFIRMS CRIMINAL AGE STANCE

The Palaszczuk government has confirmed there are no plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility following Opposition grilling over youth justice policies.

Deputy Opposition Leader Jarrod Bleijie cited a communique signed by a panel of state and territory attorneys-general last year to continue to develop a proposal to increase the minimum age.

But Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman slapped down the assertion, insisting the communique was simply a commitment to “consider the development of a proposal” of raising the age.

She declared the document was not proof the government was “agreeing to anything”.

Ms Fentiman said the focus of the Meeting of Attorneys-General was to investigate how authorities can better manage children aged between 10 and 11 who are beginning to show signs of criminal behaviour.

“Currently, there are no 10 and 11 year olds in detention here in Queensland but there is a working group that is looking at how we can better early intervene … as opposed to ending up in the criminal justice system,” the AG said.