Letter shows Curtis Pitt was asked to refer Premier to CCC

SPEAKER Curtis Pitt was asked to refer Annastacia Palaszczuk to Parliament’s powerful ethics committee over allegations she threatened Katter’s Australian Party three weeks before she was lambasted by Queensland’s corruption watchdog.

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SPEAKER Curtis Pitt was asked to refer Annastacia Palaszczuk to Parliament’s powerful ethics committee over allegations she threatened Katter’s Australian Party three weeks before she was lambasted by Queensland’s corruption watchdog.

Speaker Curtis Pitt.

The Courier-Mail can reveal the two-page September 5 letter from KAP leader Robbie Katter accused Ms Palaszczuk of contempt of Parliament for threatening to strip staffing entitlements from the party. The matter has not been referred to the committee despite Parliament sitting last week as the issue is a legal quagmire for the Speaker’s office that has few relevant precedents.

Ms Palaszczuk’s demands that KAP denounce comments by Senator Fraser Anning or be stripped of funding has engulfed the Government in crisis.

The Crime and Corruption Commission found there was “prima facie” evidence Ms Palaszczuk’s demands contravened a section of the Criminal Code that prohibits threatening or bribing a Member of Parliament but baulked at pursuing a prosecution because it had little chance of success.

The Premier could face charges of contempt, where the penalties range from an apology to prison time, or the matter being referred to the Attorney-General for consideration of prosecution.

Both the Opposition and KAP have called for Ms Palaszczuk to stand down while the matter is investigated.

In the letter obtained by The Courier-Mail, Mr Katter insisted the Premier’s linking of the staff cuts to her demands to denounce Senator Anning was a clear threat.

“I believe this statement, combined with the announcement on the same day by the Premier that she was reviewing the resources of the KAP constitutes contempt,” he wrote.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey, who was stood down during his own CCC investigation, yesterday dismissed suggestions that the Premier should stand aside.

“Certainly not,” Mr Bailey said.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk demanded that KAP denounce comments by Senator Fraser Anning or be stripped of funding has engulfed the Government in crisis. Picture: Lachie Millard

Queensland Council for Civil Liberties yesterday called for the Opposition to be included in any probe despite CCC boss Alan MacSporran stating that LNP MPs had no case to answer.

“If (Opposition deputy leader Tim) Mander is calling for a parliamentary committee to examine the matter, the Opposition’s behind-the-scenes role in the ultimate decision by the Premier to strip KAP of its parliamentary staff must be examined and exposed,” QCCL’s Terry O’Gorman said.

However, the Australian Institute of Progress’ Graham Young said the CCC was wrong to suggest Parliament, and not the courts, should handle the case against Ms Palaszczuk.

“The Premier’s actions in taking resources from the Katter party in the State Parliament because of what a member of their party said in the federal Parliament are reprehensible, as are the Opposition’s in urging her to take these steps in the first place,” he said. “It appears we are returning to a style of government where fairness is marginalised in the interest of the exercise of brute power.”