Rocky Mountain Hart as Gold Coast MP goes missing in action
A Gold Coast MP has been missing from State Parliament all week. His absence remains a mystery. Where could he be? Read the surprising answer
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THE absence all week in State Parliament of Burleigh MP Michael Hart finally today caused uproar in the House.
MPs are loathe under convention to discuss parliamentary absences but Labor this morning in Question Time decided to unleash on the Opposition front benches.
State Development Minister Cameron Dick was asked about Queensland hosting a breakfast at a Land Forces 2018 event in Adelaide and complained about not attending because the
Opposition would not give him “a pair” where an LNP member does not vote.
“The silly part of all of this is, the Member for Burleigh hasn’t been here all week. He’s on holidays,” Mr Dick said.
The State Development Minister had to pause as LNP MPs shouted out that it was convention not to mention absences of MPs.
Mr Dick told the House: “Well, when I joined the parliament, convention was to attend parliament to represent your community. The LNP could have had a week off without me, couldn’t even make that decision.”
Tourism Minister Kate Jones, who later spoke about tourism growth on the Coast, then mentioned Mr Hart’s absence.
Ms Jones targeted Opposition leader Deb Frecklington, accusing of her not having authority over her party and just “signing holiday forms”.
Coast MPs have been reluctant to discuss Mr Hart’s absence and The Gold Coast Bulletin has had no response after trying to contact him two days ago for a comment on light rail stage three.
The Burleigh MP’s Twitter and Facebook account have not been used since last weekend.
A parliamentary insider told the Bulletin: “He’s on holidays, on a train, in Canada, on the Rocky Mountains.”
Sources suggest Mr Hart was aboard the Rocky Mountaineer which has been promoted in tourist brochures as “unlocking a hidden world of unparalleled beauty as you travel through inaccessible terrain in the Canadian Rockies”.
Contacted by text and asked to call about his absence from Parliament, Mr Hart replied: “No comment mate.”
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