No police action on PUP inducement claim

A NEWMAN government MP claimed he was offered an inducement to defect to Palmer United Party, but police will not take action.

PUP inducement claim dropped by police

QUEENSLAND police will not take any action over a complaint from a Newman government MP who claimed he was offered an ­inducement to defect to the ­Palmer United Party.

Michael Hart said he complained to police earlier this month after a purported emissary of the PUP asked him to defect from the Liberal National Party.

The police decision on Mr Hart’s claim came as Whitsunday MP Jason Costigan said he had been courted by PUP to defect but without a financial incentive.

In the Northern Territory, an Alice Springs councillor has resigned from the Country Liberal Party after being spotted boarding Mr Palmer’s private jet with the newly minted PUP politician Alison Anderson.

Former CLP deputy treasurer Eli Melky confirmed he had quit the party by email this afternoon, but declined to comment on whether he would join PUP.

Ms Anderson said “the dominoes are falling — watch this space”.

Clive Palmer confirmed the party was trying to recruit members but no financial inducements were on offer. “We are a political party and we want to recruit ­people to our party — Labor, LNP,” he said.

Mr Hart, a first-term MP for Burleigh Heads, said he had known the man who approached him, whom he refused to name, for a long time.

“He called me and asked me to join, he said the Palmer Party would make me prominent,’’ he said. “He then said what can I offer you to come across to the Palmer Party and alarm bells started ringing and I slammed the door, metaphorically on him, I didn’t want to know what he was going to say.

“Then he said he could organise for Clive to talk to me and that’s when I ended the ­conversation.’’

Mr Palmer said he was unaware of any PUP official talking to Mr Hart or that he even knew of the MP. “I don’t know him and nothing would have been offered to him,’’ he said.

Mr Hart and Mr Costigan claimed PUP had told them the party was only one seat from stealing opposition status from Labor, which has a caucus of eight in the 89-seat parliament.

The allegations emerged a day after Mr Palmer threatened to sue Campbell Newman over comments the Premier made on Sunday accusing the former LNP donor of perverting the political process by “buying’’ support.

Queensland police last night isaid they were not taking any further action over Mr Hart’s complaint. “The Queensland Police Service has concluded that, based on current available information, no further action will be taken,’’ it said.

“The QPS will not be commenting beyond confirming that a complaint had been received and was assessed to determine if a criminal offence had occurred.’’

In the NT, Mr Melky said he would “move forward with my life but it will not be with the CLP”.

He refused to comment on rumours he planned to join the PUP to run against Chief Minister Adam Giles in his seat of Braitling at the next election, due in 2016.

Ms Anderson and her two indigenous backbench colleagues, Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu and Larisa Lee, resigned from the CLP earlier this month before announcing they would join the PUP at the weekend.