Susan Lamb says voters offended by Trevor Ruthenberg’s medal mistake

Labor candidate Susan Lamb says voters are disappointed at her LNP opponent’s claim about a prestigious military medal.

Liberal candidate for Longman Trevor Ruthenberg. Picture: AAP

Labor’s candidate for Longman Susan Lamb says voters in the seat are “incredibly disappointed and offended” after her LNP opponent Trevor Ruthenberg was forced to apologise for erroneously claiming he had been awarded the Australian Service Medal.

Ms Lamb denied there was any comparison between Mr Ruthenberg’s mistake and her failure to renounce her British citizenship, which prompted the by-election in the Queensland seat.

“There are over 40 pages of evidence that people can see on the steps that I took in relation to citizenship,” Ms Lamb said.

“When I speak to people on the ground, whether it’s on the doors, on the phones, whenever I speak to people what they’re talking to me about is healthcare, education. People are talking to me about getting a good job, a safe job, a well-paid job. That’s what people are talking to me about.

“Today people might be talking about Trevor Ruthenberg, but they’re also when they talk about Trevor Ruthenberg, they’re also talking about his history and his record for this community.”

Asked whether she accepted Mr Ruthenberg’s apology over the medal claim, Ms Lamb said that was a decision for voters.

“What Trevor’s done today is come out and tried to explain a situation,” she said.

“Like I said, the community will make some judgment on that. I know that there are a lot of people, I’ve been on the pre-poll this morning, that are incredibly disappointed and offended by what they read in the paper today.

“People will go to the polling booth in the next couple of days and on Saturday the 28th, and that may form part of their decision.

“What I think is that people will be incredibly disappointed and upset by what they read today. That’s what I think. But any question in relation to how Trevor Ruthenberg acted is a question for Trevor, not me.”

Labor’s candidate for the seat of Longman, Susan Lamb. Picture: AAP

WA Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, a former SAS captain, said those criticising Mr Ruthenberg’s “typing error” were “tin soldiers” who were unjustly attacking his integrity.

Mr Hastie said Mr Ruthenberg had served in the RAAF from 1987 to 1993, qualifying for the four years of service the Australian Defence Medal requires.

“He has only ever worn that medal. He has never claimed to have served overseas on peace or non-warlike operations,” Mr Hastie said.

“Trev incorrectly listed the ‘Australian Defence Medal’ as the ‘Australian Service Medal’ on his biographical information.

“I’ve spoken with Trev. He’s a top bloke. He’s admitted his mistake and copped it on the chin.

“The tin soldiers out there pumping this up are unjustly attacking Trev’s integrity.

“It was an easy mistake to make: most diggers, sailors and airmen don’t serve for the medals.”

Labor leader Bill Shorten said he had his “own views” about whether or not Mr Ruthenberg’s medal claim was an honest mistake.

“But I’m going to leave that to the voters of Longman to work out what they think about it,” Mr Shorten said.

“My concern is more Trevor Ruthenberg’s record as a Campbell Newman member of parliament.

“Queenslanders haven’t forgotten that Campbell Newman did his best to wreck the essential services of this state - terrible cuts to hospitals and all the jobs lost in the Queensland health system which meant a worse deal for families.

“Mr Ruthenberg’s record, for voting for every cut that Campbell Newman wanted, that’s the most worrying issue for the voters of Longman.”

Pressed again on his views on the medal claim, Mr Shorten said he would leave judgment to voters.

“In my experience, most people know what they got their military medals for,” Mr Shorten said.

Big Trev ‘made a mistake’

Malcolm Turnbull has accepted that the Liberal candidate in the Queensland Labor seat of Longman made an “innocent mistake’’ after being outed for wrongly claiming to have been awarded the Australian Service Medal.

Trevor Ruthenberg, a former state MP, today denied he was a “military impostor’’ after providing information to the Queensland Parliament that he had been awarded the Australian Service Medal. The medal is awarded for service in peacekeeping zones and non-war operations. Mr Ruthernberg did not serve overseas.

The biography on the Queensland Parliament website of the one-term MP — who was tipped to win the federal seat at the July 28 by-election — has for six years stated the former air force corporal had been awarded the medal.

Mr Ruthenberg never received the distinction and instead received the Australian Defence Medal, given to all military personnel after serving four years.

In an ABC radio interview this morning, the LNP candidate said he could not explain how the mistake had occurred but that he was the source of the information to the parliament back in 2012.

“It occurred six years and all I can do is to apologise, is was an honest mistake,’’ he said after the discrepancy was revealed by The Courier-Mail.

“I provided that information, that was entirely my doing . It happened, maybe I was tired, maybe I was rushed, I am not sure.

“I am not a military impostor I served in the air force, I did receive a medal, the Australian Defence Medal.”

Mr Ruthenberg told a press conference in Longman he had apologised to the defence community and spoken with all of the RSL presidents in the electorate.

“I’ve spoken to some of the Vietnam veterans. I’ll continue to speak with them to ensure that they understand that this was an honest mistake and that there was no way, ever, that I would claim to own a medal that I just wasn’t entitled to,” Mr Ruthenberg said.

“All of them understood and acknowledged that it’s easy enough to make, and they all know me.

“They all know my integrity and they all know my service, and so, they were accepting of the apology.”

He said it was important to put up his hand and own his mistake.

“I think, part of what you need to do in life, part of being a person with integrity, is to own your mistakes and that’s what I’ve done,” Mr Ruthenberg said.

“I’ve put my hand up and I’ve said I’m sorry. I’ve made a mistake. I’ve never worn an Australian Service Medal. I’ve never claimed to have served overseas, to have an eligible for an Australian Defence (sic) Medal.

“I have only ever worn the medal that has been given to me, which is the Australian Defence Medal.”

Mr Ruthenberg said he did not have any recollection of how he had made the mistake.

“I don’t. When you first become a parliamentarian, in Queensland, there was a three-day orientation process and during that process, you’re given a swag of papers that you need to fill out,” he said.

“So I filled them out to the best of my capability at the time. Obviously, made a mistake.”

He said he had apologised to Mr Turnbull.

“This is not the sort of front page news that the Prime Minister wants to see, and I reassured the Prime Minister that I’ve never worn the medal, I’ve never claimed to have served overseas.”

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he had spoken to Mr Ruthenberg about the medal mistake. “He has made an innocent mistake — he is very embarrassed about it and he has apologised profusely,” Mr Turnbull told Radio 3AW.

“Big Trev is as honest and straight as he is big — he feels bad about it, he has apologised profusely.

“I have spoken to him about it this morning and I am satisfied it is an honest mistake.”

Speaking at a later press conference, the Prime Minister reiterated that Mr Ruthenberg had “mistakenly described” his award.

“He is really so proud of the Australian Defence Force. He is very embarrassed. He is really sorry. He has apologised profusely for the mistake.

“As he said, he screwed up. He’s fessed up but it was an honest mistake.”

Mr Ruthenberg had hoped to deliver a historic win for Mr Turnbull in Longman: no government in almost a century has won a seat off an opposition

The by-election is one of five being contested on July 28 and follows the resignation of one-term Labor incumbent and now-candidate Susan Lamb because she held dual citizenship.

Ms Lamb defeated Turnbull government frontbencher Wyatt Roy, on the back of One Nation preferences, at the 2016 federal election.

Polling has shown Mr ­Ruthenberg, who lost his seat state seat of Kallangur after one term, was ahead of Ms Lamb on a two-party-preferred basis.

His preselection was delayed amid questions over his own citizenship status. Born in Papua New Guinea, he eventually presented paperwork to the LNP’s legal advisers showing he did not hold dual citizenship.

Yesterday, Mr Ruthenberg ­ad­mitted he may have “screwed up’’. “If I screwed up then I screwed up and all I can do is apologise,” he said. “It was certainly not intentional and I respect the uniform way too much to claim I earned something I didn’t.”

Additional reporting: Rachel Baxendale