LNP star donor a twice-convicted fraudster

A twice-convicted fraudster has emerged as one of the biggest individual donors to Queensland’s Liberal National Party ahead of last month’s election.

Deb Frecklington the LNP Election Party at the Emporium Hotel in Brisbane, Queensland, on October 31. Picture: Josh Woning

A twice-convicted fraudster, once lauded in parliament by federal National Disability Insurance Scheme Minister Stuart Robert, has emerged as one of the biggest individual donors to Queensland’s Liberal National Party ahead of last month’s state election.

Eddy Andrews, convicted of fraud in Victoria and Queensland and who more recently ran a charity stripped of its registration by regulators, gave almost $60,000 in 32 donations to the LNP for its campaign.

Donations were made under the two names of Mr Andrews’s company, Illira Group, which touts itself as a public safety and disaster preparedness consultancy with offices around the world. Founded in 2016, the Illira Group, which changed its name in September from the IPSGroup, ­offers “NDIS services” on its website, despite not being a registered NDIS provider.

Electoral Commission of Queensland records show Mr Andrews gave the bulk of donations in $1000 and $1500 instalments in the three months leading up to the October 31 election.

The LNP has come under fire over its campaign fundraising practices, particularly over alle­gations it was secretly accepting money from developers, banned from giving donations in the state.

In September, The Australian revealed the LNP had breached electoral laws by accepting donations from one of the state’s biggest developers, Phil Murphy, and had also been holding private fundraisers attended by property industry figures. It prompted a written warning in August from LNP director Michael O’Dwyer against inviting any “prohibited donors’’ to political events.

It is understood the ECQ received complaints about LNP fundraising and is investigating.

Mr Andrews, who was among invitees to the COVID-restricted LNP election night party, told The Australian on Sunday that “Everything is straight down the line, I’m not a developer so I’m not a prohibited donor’’.

“I have given the money to different candidates, some of them contact me or one of their team contacts me needing help.

“This is my money, so I can do what I like with it,’’ he said.

Mr Andrews, 62, pleaded guilty to fraud in 2011 for a charity-­related fraud of more than $30,000 and was sentenced to two years in prison. The fraud related to a Gold Coast-based charity he co-founded, Foundation for Public Safety Professionals.

He had previously been convicted of fraud in Victoria.

After his release, he set up another charity, The First 24 Hrs Foundation, which was stripped of its registration by the Australian Charity and Not-for-profits Commission in 2015.

It was alleged the charity was operating “sausage sizzles” that were not used for charitable purposes and it had made more than $13,000 in donations to the LNP.

At the time, the LNP issued a statement that it was “the first (it had) heard of any issues surrounding Mr Andrews and the party will monitor the investigation’’.

On Sunday, an LNP spokesman said while he knew Mr Andrews, he was unaware of the total of donations made by him ahead of this year’s election campaign.

“I was not aware of that,’’ he said when asked about Mr Andrews’s convictions.

He said Mr Andrews’s claims he had been approached by candidates or their teams for donations for their individual electorate campaigns was unusual.

“We fundraise through headquarters and any funds go to the central campaign,’’ he said.

Mr Andrews, who has gone by the name Kyle Michael Watson, was praised in federal parliament by Mr Robert for his work with the charity that was later involved in his conviction for fraud.