Queensland election: Greens not fit for power, says party rebel

A rebel Greens candidate has warned that the party is not fit to hold a position of power in Queensland.

A rebel Greens candidate has warned that the party is not fit to hold a position of power in Queensland after detailing a litany of alleged financial and process abuses to authorities, including the state’s Crime and Corruption Commission.

John Meyer, a former electorate officer to the Greens’ sole state MP, Michael Berkman, said he was dumped as a candidate on trumped-up claims of personal impropriety after he questioned the legality of fundraising and other practices.

The row has spilled into the battle for former deputy premier Jackie Trad’s marginal seat of South Brisbane, where Mr Meyer is running as an “ethical green” independent while his partner, Miranda Bertram, goes for nearby McConnel, another priority for the Greens in the state election.

Describing himself as a “sensible green with a small ‘g’,” Mr Meyer said he was determined to hold the party to account for failing to meet its professed standards when there was a chance the Greens could be kingmakers in the next parliament.

“I just can’t stand back and let this happen,” he said. “I can tell you, honestly, I do not want to see the Greens in the balance of power in Queensland. Knowing what I know, I think that will be an absolute disaster. I wouldn’t let them organise my sock drawer, the way the leadership has handled things with me.”

Mr Meyer, 45, was disendorsed as the Greens’ candidate for the Liberal National Party-held seat of Clayfield in Brisbane’s inner-north on September 1 over allegations that he had threatened and intimidated party members, including two women.

Mr Meyer denied this, saying the claims were never put to him, and he had been sacked as a candidate to shut down his demand for answers about the Greens’ ­finances and his status on Mr Berkman’s staff.

He challenged the ­legality of fundraising raffles, whether the party was entitled to enrol staff on JobKeeper and the disbursement of election refunds from the Electoral Commission of Queensland before he quit working for the MP on ­August 26. “I decided, look, I am not happy about this. I had concerns about possible unethical and ­illegal behaviour,” he said.

A CCC spokesman said the agency had assessed Mr Meyer’s complaint, but it did not satisfy the benchmark of corrupt conduct and would not be pursued.

The decision to pull his ­endorsement in Clayfield was taken by a committee that included Queens­land Greens convener Penny Allman-Payne and Amy MacMahon, the candidate for South Brisbane lining up for a second time against Ms Trad.

Asked if running there as a green independent was the ­action of a disgruntled man, Mr Meyer said: “Disgruntled means angry and disillusioned and I am definitely both of those. But this is not a get-square. This is standing up for what’s right … it’s about shining a light on what the Greens actually are.”

Rejecting his accusations as “spurious”, Ms Allman-Payne said Mr Meyer had been disendorsed after threatening the party with “exposure” unless his demands for extra campaign ­resources were met. “John’s allegations are baseless and the only question is whether his attacks … are based on a misunderstanding of complex legislation or on ­malicious intent,” she said.