New Clive Palmer claims could rebound on Campbell Newman and Jeff Seeney

THE Queensland Premier and his deputy may be in breach of state law by sitting for two years on an allegedly corrupt approach by Clive Palmer.

Premier Campbell Newman, left, and Health Minister Lawrence Springborg in Brisbane yesterday. Picture: Mark Cranitch

THE Queensland Premier and his deputy may be in breach of state law by sitting for two years on an allegedly corrupt approach by businessman and MP Clive Palmer, instead of reporting it immediately to watchdog agency, the Crime and Misconduct Commission.

Senior lawyers, who have reviewed the CMC Act in light of the explosive allegations levelled by Campbell Newman against Mr Palmer in court documents, say the law is explicit in requiring public and elected officials to notify the commission of suspected official misconduct.

Implicitly, the reporting to the CMC had to be “timely’’, said one senior legal figure familiar with the legislation.

Mr Newman yesterday stepped up his attacks on Mr Palmer by claiming that the wealthy PUP leader had entered politics for personal and financial gain.

“Mr Palmer is in it for himself, his personal and commercial interests,’’ he said. “It’s all about power and money. It is not about the best interests of Queenslanders.’’

But the Premier brushed aside questions on why he had failed to blow the whistle earlier on the alleged attempt by Mr Palmer in 2012 to “buy’’ government support for his coal project in the new Galilee mining field in the state’s central west.

“It is a matter before the CMC, it is also before the Supreme Court of Queensland,’’ Mr Newman said.

The corruption allegation is outlined in legal documents filed in the Queensland Supreme Court last Wednesday by Mr Newman in res­ponse to defamation proceedings instigated by Mr Palmer.

At issue is a meeting between Mr Palmer and Queensland Deputy Premier and Infrastructure Minister Jeff Seeney in April 2012, a month after Mr Newman’s Liberal National Party government was elected.

Last Friday night, Mr Seeney alleged on the ABC’s 7.30 program that Mr Palmer, at that time an LNP life member and major ­financial donor to the party, had said he believed he was entitled to “special treatment’’ for his proposed Galilee mine, and its rail and port links.

“He talked about the support that he’d given us and the fact that he had a lot more money to give in the future,’’ Mr Seeney said.

As The Weekend Australian reported, the CMC had by then started to examine the allegations against Mr Palmer contained in the Supreme Court documentation filed by Mr Newman.

Mr Seeney said he regretted not alerting the CMC two years ago, explaining that Mr Palmer was at the time a “senior figure’’ in the LNP with whom he had wanted to “attempt to try to work with’’.

Mr Seeney also told the ABC that he had informed Mr Newman of Mr Palmer’s alleged effort to influence government decision-making.

Mr Palmer has denied the allegations and said yesterday he welcomed the CMC’s investigation. He hit back at the government, threatening to sue Mr Seeney in a separate defamation action.

Mr Palmer said about Mr Seeney: “He’ll have a chance to go on oath before a judge and weigh what he thinks, and then we will be able to produce evidence to show he is a liar.’’

A spokesman for Mr Newman said last night the Premier had nothing to add to his comments yesterday and to those of Mr Seeney on Friday.

Section 38 of the CMC Act, 2001, stipulates that the requirement to notify kicks in if a public official suspects an incident of official misconduct.

This duty is “paramount’’, the law says. Official misconduct is defined under the act as a criminal offence or disciplinary breach requiring the dismissal of the person ­responsible.

However, it does not set out a time frame in which the CMC must be notified or the penalty for breaching that requirement.

Mr Palmer’s political clout was underlined by a weekend poll in Queensland showing that support for the Palmer United Party had climbed to 13.6 per cent, potentially making it a force at the state election due early next year.

Mr Newman said he did not comment on opinion polls.