Queensland Liberal clubs’ campus war sparks legal action
G’day readers. Buckle up for a bumper edition of Feeding the Chooks, your weekly peek behind the scenes of Queensland politics, reported by Michael McKenna, Sarah Elks and Lydia Lynch.
LNP EATS ITS YOUNG
A turf war has erupted on Queensland university campuses between rival student Liberal clubs, involving staffers from the offices of Peter Dutton and the state opposition, sparking legal action by the Liberal National Party.
Allegations of financial irregularities and secret bank accounts have ensnared two Liberal-leaning clubs, both disaffiliated by their respective student unions at the University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology.
The UQ Menzies Society had its official status on campus withdrawn earlier this year by the Labor-led Student Union after allegedly refusing to hand over records for a financial probe into the club.
It focused on the proceeds of what was billed as the “2nd UQ Menzies Gala Ball” in August last year at which federal Liberal frontbencher Jane Hume was a guest speaker. LNP MPs also forked out as sponsors to the event.
At the time, the secretary of the Menzies Society was Darcy Creighton, a staffer for Dutton until recently and immediate past president of the Young LNP, which has become an influential voting bloc in internal ballots of the party over the past year or so.
Creighton hung up when contacted by Chooks.
An email to Creighton from the Student Union’s Clubs and Societies Committee questioned the alleged existence of “two banks accounts and funds that could not be accounted for”.
Under UQ regulations, affiliated clubs and societies must operate only one bank account that is prescribed by the Student Union committee.
In response to the probe, the Menzies Society – which changed its name to the UQ Liberal National Society – told the committee it “did not handle any financial aspects of the 2nd Annual Menzies Ball”.
“The UQLNS maintains its position that the 2nd Annual Menzies Ball was held in collaboration with various third parties, including but not limited to the QUTLNC (Queensland University of Technology Liberal National Club,’’ then society president Karsten Duvel, a staffer for state LNP MP Tim Nicholls, told the probe in February this year.
“We accept that it may have been misleading to market this event using our name; however, given our society has a more far-reaching membership, at the time, the previous executive felt it was in the best interests of students and members to do so.’’
In a statement to the UQ committee, the president of the QUTLNC Tobias Moore said “QUTLNC ran the ball in collaboration with UQLNS – however, I can confirm that proceeds from the ball went to the QUTLNC”.
But QUT Guild clubs and societies officer Madison Shepherd, in a letter to the UQ probe, said the QUT LNC had been disaffiliated in 2021 due to “inactivity and non-compliance”.
“As it stands, no information was passed onto QUT LNC members regarding any ball, publicly or privately nor did the UQ LNC put the QUTLNC name or logo on any of the marketing. I find this incredibly strange,’’ she wrote.
When the union first disaffiliated the society, Senator James McGrath wrote to UQ Vice-Chancellor Deborah Terry slamming the move. It didn’t seem to work because the Student Union stood by its decision despite a series of appeals.
Last month, things got weirder after the UQ student union voted to affiliate the newly-formed UQ Liberal National Club, headed by Emma Goodwin – daughter of businessman and LNP factional player David Goodwin.
That club was allowed to put up a stall at Market Day in UQ’s “Great Court” while the renamed UQ Liberal National Society had to set-up outside the official area.
What wasn’t publicly known at the time was that LNP’s lawyers had sent a legal letter to Goodwin and the Student Union saying the new club didn‘t have its backing.
“At no time has the LNP authorised UQU and/or UQLNC to use any component of the LNP branding,” the letter said.
“Excluding the UQLNS, at no time has the LNP authorised UQU and/or the UQLNC to establish a club or authorised the establishment of a club that represents any association with the LNP.’’
In the letter, the LNP accused the club of infringing copyright of the party’s branding with its use of the “UQ Liberal National Club” on a variety of social media platforms it set-up.
“The LNP is concerned that the swoosh, star, colours, font and letters LN are deceptively similar to the swoosh, star, colours, font and letters LN of the registered LNP Logo,’’ it said.
The LNP demanded the club take down all the material and effectively change its name by July 24.
“You will see that our clients have refrained from demanding the usual undertakings as to damages/an account and/or costs, but reserve their right to do so if the dispute is not resolved by the provision of the undertakings in the time requested,’’ the letter said.
Goodwin couldn’t be contacted.
At a time when political parties – particularly conservatives – are struggling to engage the youth, Chooks is baffled by the actions of the LNP HQ.
More to come in the next few weeks.
PROTECTION RACKET
It promises so much as a forum to put politician and public servant under the spotlight, but Queensland’s budget estimates has become little more than a protection racket.
The pantomime was on show this week when transport minister Mark “Mangocube” Bailey had to front up for his turn in the hot seat.
The ever-pious Bailey has never treasured transparency and accountability as a virtue of office.
Remember, as Energy minister, he deleted his private email account when Chooks put in a Right to Information request to gain access to the back channel orders he was getting from his Electrical Trade Union patrons.
He got stood down, the Crime and Corruption Commission investigated – warned of the corruption risk and destruction of public records – and gave him a pass only because he was able to reactivate the account.
This week, there was a misplaced hope the public might get to the truth of the bizarre Maryborough train debacle and how a $2.4bn blowout in the cost of the project was deleted (there’s that word again) from a press release out of his micromanaged ministerial office.
But any chance of a Tony Fitzgerald-like squeeze of Bailey, eliciting a witness-box admission he ordered the cover-up was dashed when Chooks realised his ETU mate, ALP backbencher Shane King, was chairing the session.
Jarrod Bleijie did his best but every time he bowled a bouncer at Bailey, King was there to rule a no ball.
As an example: Bleijie asked when Bailey told Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk the program cost had increased from $7.1bn to $9.5bn.
After much back and forth, in which Bailey dodged the question, he eventually declared he didn’t remember when he told the boss.
King to Bleijie: “The Minister has answered the question. You might not like the answer. The Minister has answered that question.”
Bleijie then asked for “the Minister to take it on notice and get back to the committee.”
More back and forth until King declared: “The Minister has answered the question to his satisfaction.”
And that absurd ruling from the chair was all it took, with the questioning taken over by King who then inquired of Bailey about government spending in his own electorate.
Bailey couldn’t hide his relief, telling the committee he was happy to field King’s more “substantive” line of questioning.
That is the level of scrutiny in the Queensland (unicameral) parliament’s once-a-year stab at getting to the truth.
AWKWARD AUKUS
The Prime Minister’s chief lieutenants are determined to avoid an embarrassing showdown at next week’s ALP national conference over AUKUS.
As Chooks revealed last week, the Electrical Trades Union is planning a protest outside the event, and furious negotiations are happening in the background to sidestep a public slanging match on the floor of the conference.
The latest manoeuvre comes from Deputy PM and Defence Minister Richard Marles.
A missive lobbed into the inboxes of Labor members this week, inviting “all party members and affiliates” to an hour-long AUKUS briefing with Marles, in the form of an online Zoom webinar, on Monday from 5.30pm.
Let’s see if the chat can ease some of the Left faction’s concerns about the $386bn subs deal.
National conference kicks off on Thursday in Brisbane.
Key figures will be in Queensland earlier, including Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers, who are hosting a $10,000-a-head boardroom dinner on Tuesday night, to gold-plate the ALP’s campaign war chest.
CRISAFULLI STOKES THE BAYSIDE BRAWL
Queensland LNP leader David Crisafulli appears hesitant to declare favourites before they are formally endorsed by local branches.
Take the preselection contest in the safe LNP state seat of Oodgeroo, on Brisbane’s bayside, where conservative backbencher Mark Robinson is retiring.
Chooks is keeping a close eye on the race, in which former LNP senator Amanda Stoker, former LNP federal MP Andrew Laming and ordained Anglican priest and communications professional Daniel Hobbs are vying to be the party’s candidate at the October 2024 state election.
On Wednesday the Federal Court ruled that Laming would have to pay $20,000 in fines for making unauthorised and “misleading” Facebook posts ahead of the 2019 federal election.
After the decision was made public, Crisafulli was asked whether he believed Laming was a fit and proper person to join his team.
Crisafulli could barely contain his snicker when fielding questions about Laming, including whether he liked him.
“The party will choose good quality people, and I have faith that it will,” Crisafulli said.
Asked when was the last time he spoke to Laming, Crisafulli said “some time ago” and gave the same answer about Laming’s rival, Stoker.
But Chooks knows Crisafulli caught up with the dark horse candidate, Hobbs, recently, posing for a selfie at the LNP state convention last month, where the priest delivered the opening prayer.
Sources close to the LNP leader say Crisafulli will put Stoker straight into cabinet if she wins the preselection, and the LNP wins the election.
But others are not sure given Stoker fell out with several state MPs after accusing former opposition leader Deb Frecklington of “playing the gender card” when she went after “backroom boys” in the LNP for destabilising her position ahead of the last state election.
As they say, keep your friends close and your political rivals closer.
BOLTON TO FACE OFF AGAINST MAYOR
Independent Noosa MP Sandy Bolton will face a fight to hold on to her seat at next year’s election with the mayor of the up-market coastal town Clare Stewart to run.
The LNP will officially announce Stewart as a candidate on Sunday after she fronts an “endorsement meeting” with local branchies on Saturday morning.
Bolton won the seat off the LNP in a major upset at the 2017 election and pulled a 12.5 per cent swing at the 2020 election.
SPOTTED
Health and Queensland hospitals are at the centre of the government’s polling woes as evidenced by this year’s cabinet reshuffle.
Annastacia Palaszczuk dumped factional friend Yvette D’Ath, replacing her with heir apparent Shannon Fentiman with whom she has a cordial (translation: wary) relationship.
But the makeover still needed work.
Minutes after Fentiman finished in budget estimates last week, veteran Labor spinner and former journo Robert Hoge made an announcement on LinkedIn.
“Excited to be stepping into a senior role as Assistant Deputy Director-General in Queensland Health,” Hoge, also an author and advocate, posted.
“Great opportunity to join a few former colleagues and some great new ones to provide leadership and advice across key areas, including strategy, policy, reform and communications.”
Hoge is known in the wider world for his memoir “Ugly,” a moving and inspirational book about his experience of living with facial difference and physical disabilities.
But in the political world, he is regarded as one of the best spinners in the business after heading health communications during the pandemic.
Hoge has lately been executive director of strategic communications in the state development department (for two years) and is apparently going to be on a $280,000 wage at Queensland Health.
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