David Marler
Latest posts by David Marler (see all)
- Bates In Contempt - 18 September 2024
- Crisafulli To Silence Truth-Telling - 17 September 2024
- Use Of Force – Nuclear Resistance Is Futile - 22 June 2024
Few in the media noticed but in the final hours of Queensland’s 57th parliament the alternative health minister Ros Bates was found in contempt.
The media’s description of Queensland’s parliamentary ethics committee is usually preceded with “the powerful”. So what happens when Queensland’s parliamentarians are not in adherence?
Not much. It’s not since 2013 that the committee has recommended the extreme measure of an MP expulsion, as was the case of Premier Campbell Newman’s MP Scott Driscoll.
On Thursday, former Newman government minister & shadow health minister Ros Bates used her final hours in the 57th to blame Labor for everything whilst slipping in a quick apology for not adhering to standing orders 253A. The ethics committee accepted the apology.
Under Queensland parliamentary rules, the MP must adhere to the Speaker’s direction if another MP finds the accusation personally offensive. In May Queensland Health Minister Shannon Fentiman found it offensive when Bates inferred she had incited violence over a social media post. Queensland Speaker Curtis Pitt asked Bates three times to withdrawn but she refused.
Under Queensland Campbell Newman’s government, Ros Bates achieved embattled status and resigned from her portfolio. In 2014 the Queensland Liberal National Party (LNP) considered her disendorsement.
The Queensland state election is 26 October, 2024.
