Darren Howie demands Michael Trout’s party donation be paid back following alleged assaults
An LNP whistleblower has called out his own party’s decision to accept a “non-political” donation from a key Far North powerbroker now facing serious charges, including allegedly assaulting a woman.
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An LNP whistleblower has criticised his own party for accepting a “non-political” donation from a key Far North powerbroker who is now defending serious charges, including allegedly assaulting a woman.
With just 18 days before voters head to the ballot boxes, the party’s former vice chair of the Barron River electorate, Darren Howie, has delivered an extraordinary broadside levelling explosive new claims against the Coalition.
In doing so, Mr Howie has questioned the LNP’s hard line on crime, a key election issue for the party.
On May 17, police allege that former Far North LNP chairman Michael Trout assaulted Leah Kawane, 23, and her husband, Jessie Howie, 32, at a Holloways Beach home.
The alleged victims are Mr Howie’s son and daughter-in-law.
Ms Kawane, who is Torres Strait Islander and also referred to as Leah Reuben, claimed an under-19 national boxing title in 2019 in the bantamweight division and has previously worked in youth support roles.
Following the incident, Mr Trout, who has denied the allegations, contacted the Cairns Post, claiming that he was a victim of youth crime.
When contacted, the LNP refused to answer questions regarding the matter.
But Opposition Leader, David Crisafulli is scheduled to hold a press conference in Cairns on Tuesday.
“This is a matter before the Court and it would be inappropriate to comment or pre-empt a Court ruling,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.
PARTY DONATION
The former Blazing Saddles business owner, commonly referred to as “Trouty”, remained in his role with the Coalition before stepping down in August after he was formally charged by police.
Prior to quitting as chairman, Mr Trout made a $17,500 non-political donation to the LNP which cannot be used on political campaigns but can cover other expenses, including administrative costs.
On Saturday Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said the LNP would keep Mr Trout’s cash, pending a guilty verdict.
But the elder Mr Howie rejected the would-be Premier’s argument, calling on him to return the money to Mr Trout immediately.
“David wants to shut (up) shop on the matter and keep the donation money paid by ‘Trouty’ until after the court proceedings,” he said.
“The big question here is ‘Trouty’ is accused and charged of assaulting a woman. That’s the issue.”
NO ACTION
Mr Howie also confirmed that he had alerted the LNP’s candidate for Barron River, Bree James, the day after the alleged assaults involving Mr Trout.
The revelation prompted current Member for Barron River Craig Crawford to question why no action was taken at the time.
“(Mr Howie) rang Bree James the day after the alleged incident at Holloways Beach and told her what (allegedly) occurred at the property on that day,” Mr Crawford said.
“He also rang a number of senior LNP Cairns members and told them what occurred that day.
“He did this because he was concerned that the most senior LNP representative in Far North Queensland had allegedly just assaulted his daughter-in-law and son.
“He wanted the LNP to be aware of it because he knew that it was a significant change in the campaign that was coming up.”
Asked if she had an opinion on whether the LNP should have accepted Mr Trout’s donation, Ms James declared that it was “a matter for the LNP”.
“I have no idea when the donation was made,” she said.
“All of those questions need to be directed to the LNP head office. It’s a legal matter for the LNP to deal with. I have no opinion on that.
“It needs to be dealt with by the courts and it needs to be dealt with by the LNP head office.”
But Mr Crawford argued his rival should have done more following her conversation with Mr Howie.
“The question is what did she do with the information that she was given, the day after the alleged assault?” the Far North MP said.
“Who did she tell? Did she tell the police? Did she tell David Crisafulli?”
The ALP lacked credibility when it came to discussing political funding, an LNP spokeswoman said.
“Labor’s hypocrisy on the issue of returning donations is laughable as long as they continue to hold on to hundreds of thousands in donations from law-flouting, violent CFMEU who have been found guilty by the court,” she said.
The LNP, who have campaigned hard on stamping out crime across Queensland, should reconsider accepting Mr Trout’s funds, Cairns-based Senator Nita Green said.
“It’s concerning that the LNP accepted this donation given they knew of the allegations,” Ms Green said.
“Local LNP candidates have plenty to say about crime but they’re not explaining why they think it’s acceptable to keep this donation.”
Mr Trout did not respond to multiple requests for comment prior to deadline.
Since August, Ms James has deleted multiple social media posts that previously featured Mr Trout in them.
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