The boss of the state's CFMEU has done something he's never done before: demand the resignation of a minister. But he says Treasurer Jackie Trad has lost the support of the community.
Hundreds of construction workers have stormed Parliament House demanding Treasurer Jackie Trad resign and the Cross River Rail delivery authority be scrapped.
It comes as Ms Trad faced a grilling during a fiery parliamentary Question Time this morning over the government's integrity crisis with MPs asking why she won't 'do the right thing by Queenslanders' and resign.
CFMEU state secretary Michael Ravbar - among those storming Parliament House - said Ms Trad and the authority were not up to the task of managing the $5.4 billion rail project from Dutton Park to Bowen Hills.
It is the strongest the union has come out against Ms Trad.
“Right now we have more energy and political capital being spent on Jackie Trad’s $700,000 investment property than we do on the largest infrastructure project in Queensland,” he said.
“She is no friend of the worker. The Labor Government should do the right thing.”
Mr Ravbar said that Government inaction would see the CFMEU protesting up until the October 2020 election.
He said he’d never called for a politician to resign before.
Mr Ravbar said the call was due to the cumulative issues of Cross River Rail mismanagement, people “feathering their own nests with properties” and insensitive comments about miners.
In February, the Treasurer said miners should re-skill amid a backlash against coal.
“She tried to say she wasn’t thinking, but that’s bull****," Mr Ravbar said.
"The thing about Trad is that she’s a very tough lady, and I respect that, but she knows what she says and does,” Mr Ravbar said.
“There’s no doubt that Trad is not well liked out there in the community.”
At this stage, the CFMEU will not consider leveraging political donations to Labor to force Trad’s resignation.
“I still think people like (Premier Annastacia) Palaszczuk, to be honest with you," Mr Ravbar said.
"My members still think she is a nice lady, which is unusual for someone in politics to be seen as nice.
“But some of her ministers just need to lift their game.
"It’s only second term too. Wouldn’t you be working 10 times harder to get re-elected?"
ETU state secretary Peter Ong said the ALP had lost it way.
“We don’t expect to have to protest in front of an ALP party,”
“So for us to be out here protesting it must be really bad.”
During Question Time grilling Ms Trad said she has made her position abundantly clear about if she would resign.
"I have always endeavored to do the right thing," she said.
"I will ensure that I abide by the rules and if there is an investigation that follows the assessment by the CCC I will do what is right.
"I will refer those (opposite) to the long list of issues that the Premier put on the table in relation to those opposite's track record when in government."
SEE HOW IT UNFOLDED IN THE LIVE BLOG BELOW
Ms Trad went on to slam the LNP over its "diamond membership", which ensures property developers can still be part of the LNP amid Labor's donation ban.
It comes after the Palaszczuk Government faced a fresh integrity crisis when the Courier-Mail this morning revealed Keppel MP Brittany Lauga only declared an overnight stay from March at the private residence of a businessman behind a major tourism development in her electorate on July 30.
The MP last night said she declared the hospitality as soon as she realised it was not covered in the cost of the trip.
Meanwhile Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will report back today on whether her deputy Jackie Trad breached the Parliament’s own rule book by not declaring her Woolloongabba investment property to ministerial colleagues.
The Premier couldn't answer the Opposition's left-field question yesterday about whether Ms Trad had complied with standing orders in her dealing with minister and public servants.
Follow all the action from Queensland Parliament today in our live blog.
ALL members of the crossbench have voted in favour of allowing the LNP to move a motion of no-confidence in the Deputy Premier.
The three Katter MP's, Greens MP, One Nation MP and independents all voted in favour.
However the motion was lost, with Labor voting 47 to 43.
– Domanii Cameron
JACKIE Trad has been asked why she hasn't sold her contentious Woolloongabba house yet.
The Deputy Premier told the House she'd previously said she would sell the home after the state's corruption watchdog completes its assessment.
– Domanii Cameron
OPPOSITION frontbencher Jarrod Bleijie has asked whether Ms Trad declared her nearby investment property at a Cabinet Budget Review Committee meeting that signed off on the new South Brisbane high school.
Ms Trad said the school was announced in 2017 and the catchments were announced in 2018 – all on social media.
“In terms of deliberations of Cabinet Budget Review meetings and Cabinet meetings, they are confidential,” she said.
If this property wasn’t in the catchment of the new school, then it would have been in the catchment of the sought-after Brisbane State High School, she added.
– Jessica Marszalek
PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk has been unable to say whether she sought advice to confirm Jackie Trad's compliance with Section 71 of the Parliament of Queensland Act.
Maroochydore MP Fiona Simpson then asked the Deputy Premier whether she sought advice regarding her compliance with Section 71, "given her interest in the law firm and the firm's retainer contract with Queensland Health, WorkCover and CS Energy Limited".
"For the benefit of the House, Section 71 … talks to restrictions on member's transacting business directly with an entity of government," Ms Trad said.
"I do not transact business with the state at any level.
"All decisions around engaging legal contractors are made at an operational level and not subject to any ministerial involvement."
– Domanii Cameron
PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk has been unable to say whether she sought advice to confirm Jackie Trad's compliance with Section 71 of the Parliament of Queensland Act.
Maroochydore MP Fiona Simpson then asked the Deputy Premier whether she sought advice regarding her compliance with Section 71, "given her interest in the law firm and the firm's retainer contract with Queensland Health, WorkCover and CS Energy Limited".
"For the benefit of the House, Section 71 … talks to restrictions on member's transacting business directly with an entity of government," Ms Trad said.
"I do not transact business with the state at any level.
"All decisions around engaging legal contractors are made at an operational level and not subject to any ministerial involvement."
– Domanii Cameron
NICKLIN MP Marty Hunt has been booted from the House for interjecting.
DEPUTY Premier Jackie Trad has accused the Opposition of mudslinging following a question over whether she had sought Integrity Commissioner advice over her and her husband’s financial stake in law firm DWF.
The Courier-Mail has previously revealed DWF, where Ms Trad’s husband is principle lawyer, has been on the panel of legal practices used by CS Energy, of which Ms Trad is a shareholding minister.
“I am one day looking forward to a question on the economy or something that’s relevant to people’s lives,” Ms Trad said.
She said her register of interests was up to date and pointed to comments by Clerk of Parliament Neil Laurie, who oversees the register, that he couldn’t hazard a guess as to how often MPs were late in updating the register.
She said allegations being put forward by the Opposition were “mudslinging”
“All these issues are before the CCC,” she said.
“They’re conducting their assessment, I’m going to get out of their way, let them conduct their assessment, and once the CCC finalise their assessment, I’ve made it clear what I’ll do.”
– Jessica Marszalek
ATTORNEY-GENERAL Yvette D’Ath has asked the Electoral Commission of Queensland to investigate a donation made to the LNP by a company under its ACN (Australian company number) rather than its business name.
Ms D’Ath has revealed in State Parliament this morning that she has penned a letter to Commissioner Pat Vidgen asking him to look into the $10,000 donation from the company, made earlier this year.
She told the House the company “appeared to be a property developer”.
“I do believe that this potentially is a prohibited donation,” Ms D’Ath told the House, adding she was concerned the use of the ACN was an attempt to circumvent the laws.
– Sarah Vogler
COOMERA MP Michael Crandon has been booted from the House for an hour for interjecting.
COOMERA MP Michael Crandon has been booted from the House for an hour for interjecting.
Health Minister Steven Miles has apologised to businesses that have suffered delays because of the new Queensland Health payment system.
A Queensland Government-owned utility corporation has underpaid hundreds of its senior staff for more than a decade in a bungle that could have ripped off up to a quarter of its workforce.