Queensland’s Liberal National Party on notice for donor breach

Queensland’s LNP has breached electoral law by hosting at least one Brisbane property developer at fundraisers.

Property developer and part owner of the Brisbane Broncos Phil Murphy. Picture: Darren England.

Queensland’s Liberal National Party has breached state electoral law by hosting at least one prominent Brisbane property developer at fundraisers ahead of next month’s state election.

The incident has forced the party organisation to caution MPs and candidates against involvement with “prohibited donors” that could put the LNP “at risk” and cruel its chances in the October 31 poll.

In 2018, the Palaszczuk government introduced a ban on developer donations in state politics in an extension of a recommendation by the Crime and Corruption Commission to prohibit developers financially supporting candidates across Queensland city councils.

The warning from LNP head office came after Brisbane developer Phil Murphy, a part-owner of the Brisbane Broncos, attended a fundraiser at the Hilton.

Mr Murphy insisted on Tuesday that $1565 believed to relate to the cost of his ticket was refunded by the LNP.

The Australian understands that MPs and candidates have stepped up private fundraising amid ongoing tensions between the party organisation and the parliamentary wing stemming from an abortive backroom strike in June against the LNP leader, Deb Frecklington. Functions have been held in private homes as well as in commercial venues, such as the “100 days to go” event at the Hilton in July attended by Mr Murphy, the founding director of Oxmar Properties and a prominent backer of former world champion boxer, Jeff Horn.

Other leading property industry figures have been named as attending similar fundraisers.

The LNP said Mr Murphy had mistakenly been invited to the Hilton function in what one insider described as a “cock-up”.

This had been declared to the Electoral Commission of Queensland, which would not comment on the incident.

“For reasons of confidentiality, the ECQ does not disclose details of its compliance activities, including complaints about possible breaches of the prohibited donor laws,” a spokeswoman said.

Mr Murphy refused to discuss the fundraiser, saying it was “academic” whether he had gone.

“If I went to a function, that is my business,” he said. “Anything that anyone paid to go to a function was refunded.”

ECQ records show that Oxmar Properties gave $1565 to the LNP on July 29.

An LNP spokesman said the party immediately went to the ECQ when it discovered it might have accepted a prohibited donation, seeking advice and direction from the agency.

“In this case, they advised that the donation had to be disclosed in the normal manner, which is what happened, and we are awaiting further direction from the ECQ on how they want us to treat that donation.”

In August 23 advice to LNP MPs and candidates, state director Michael O’Dwyer said while the party opposed the Labor-imposed ban on developer donations, any non-compliance with the law “could put the party at risk and hinder the successful election of an LNP government”.

He warned: “Any private event to which members of parliament and candidates are invited, regardless of its location and whether organised by themselves or anyone else, could reasonably be considered a political event. Given the proximity to the election, it would not be unreasonable for any such political event to also be considered a fundraising event, hence any attendance by prohibited donors is highly problematic.”

The LNP has been without its chief fundraiser since treasurer Stuart Fraser stepped down in July along with then president David Hutchinson, who fell out bitterly with Ms Frecklington over the leaking of internal polling to destabilise her leadership as well as anger over his then job with billionaire Clive Palmer.

Days after being spotted lunching with LNP powerbroker Bruce McIver at the Tattersalls club in Brisbane on Friday, Mr Palmer released polling on Tuesday showing that the LNP under Ms Frecklington was headed for a heavy defeat. The poll purportedly showed Labor’s primary vote had risen to 37 per cent, ahead of the LNP on 31 per cent, turning around a July Newspoll that had the conservatives on 38 per cent and the ALP on 34 per cent.