2/24/2016 lnp paid for sex, scandal files on labor mps
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2/24/2016
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LNP paid for sex, scandal files on Labor MPs including Anna Bligh I The Courier-Mail
The Courier-Mail News
LNP paid for sex, scandal files on Labor MPs including Anna Bligh
• by: Patrick Lion • From: The Courier-Mail
• October 12, 2011 3:23PM
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Robert Hough, a failed ALP candidate and former staffer for two Labor Ministers, was paid by the LNP to provide dossiers on Anna Bligh and her team. Picture: Mike Batterham Source: Gold Coast Bulletin
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2/2412016 LNP paid for sex, scandal files on Labor MPs including Anna Bligh I The Courier-Mail
James McGrath, ther LNP's campaign director and former adviser to London Mayor Boris Johnson, who asked disgruntled former ALP staffer Robert Hough to supply dossiers on state Labor MPs. Picture: Stuart Clarke Source: The Courier-Mail
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LNP Leader Campbell Newman has ordered his party to shred the "sleazy" ALP dirt file it paid thousands of dollars for after revelations it details the sex lives and personal information of Labor MPs.
Mr Newman said he had told LNP president Bruce Mciver to shred the dossiers and policies, and training would be carried out to prevent any repeat.
"This sort of sleazy politics is unacceptable to me, the parliamentary team and our candidates," he said.
Mr Newman today phoned The Courier-Mail editor Michael Crutcher and requested that the dossiers not be published in the print edition tomorrow.
"I told Campbell Newman that we would be publishing the details tomorrow because our readers are entitled to know what really happens in state politics," Mr Crutcher said.
At a press conference Mr Newman rejected Labor's call for those responsible for the dossiers to be sacked, but added, "If they do anything like this again, I'll be demanding their scalps."
"I say this to Premier Anna Bligh: I'm sorry the party has done this," he said .
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2/24,'2016 LNP paid for sex, scandal files on Labor MPs including Anna Bligh I The Courier-Mail
"I'm sorry to the people of Queensland, but I point out it's about time the Labor Party also declared a ceasefire on this sort of stuff."
Mr Newman said the dirt file revelation was embarrassing. He apologised to Ms Bligh and Labor MPs, saying the dossier was "entirely inappropriate".
"We are all very disappointed and indeed very angry about it," he said on ABC radio this morning.
"I've said to the (LNP) president Bruce Mciver this morning and indeed the gentlemen involved in this, I've said this material must be shredded," he said.
But he stopped short of saying those responsible should be sacked.
"I think they understand how silly they've been ... and probably that's the most important thing at the moment," he said.
Mr Mciver said the staff who were behind the commissioning of the sex and scandal dossier will keep their jobs, but have been "severely reprimanded".
But deputy Premier Andrew Fraser has gone on the attack, saying Mr Newman can't just give a "naughty talking" to LNP staff involved in collecting the dirt dossiers.
Mr Fraser says the scandal is a true test of Mr Newman's leadership and he must today dismiss Michael O'Dwyer and James McGrath.
"It's the bread and butter of American politics and I don't believe Australians want to go down that path," Mr Fraser said .
Earlier, Mr Newman put out a statement calling for a truce in the increasingly dirty state political contest.
He also denied any knowledge of the dossiers and condemned the LNP for commissioning the material, saying it was time for a clean contest.
The Courier-Mail has obtained the dossiers, which detail the sex lives of some MPs and general strengths and weaknesses.
The dossiers were compiled by former Labor ministerial staffer Robert Hough, and delivered them to LN P campaign director James McGrath in the first half of this year.
For the exclusive background story and to see Anna Bligh's dossier see today's print edition of The Courier Mail Read the complete dossiers in Thursday's print edition of The Courier Mail
Electoral Commission of Queensland financial records reveal Mr Hough was paid $3075 for the "consultancy" work, which began when John-Paul Langbroek was LN P leader but continued under Mr Newman.
After LN P leaders refused to answer questions about the files overnight, Mr Newman went on ABC radio early Wednesday morning and claimed he knew nothing about the commissioning of the secret dossier before issuing a statement around Sam.
"I have asked the LNP to shred the material gathered and that clear policies and procedures be developed to ensure the campaign is fought on issues not people's personal lives, " he said.
In his statement he denied any knowledge of the dossiers.
"The issues raised in The Courier-Mail were organised before I became Leader, " he said.
"I didn't know anything about this and I certainly don't condone it.
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212412016 LNP paid for sex, scandal files on Labor MPs including Anna Bl igh I The Courier-Mail
" I don't agree with the Labor Party's use of taxpayer's money for a dirt unit dedicated to slinging mud and smearing me and my family.
"I am equally disappointed the LNP organisation has used its own money for the actions outlined in today's Courier Mail."
The LN P Leader said it was time for both Labor and the LN P to stop the smear.
"It is time both sides drew a line in the sand and rejected sleazy politics and instead started focussing on the real issues important to Queenslanders, like the cost of living, improving access to health services and growing the economy," he said.
The file was commissioned while John-Paul Langbroek was party leader, but Mr Newman said he did not believe the MP knew of its existence either.
Mr Fraser has called for the sacking of those responsible for the dossier.
"Clearly, this goes to the core of those people running the LNP campaign," he said on ABC Radio.
"Campaign directors James McGrath and Michael O'Dwyer have commissioned this work, it represents a new low in Australian politics, and Campbell Newman needs to dismiss them."
Fraser says he's not worried about his dossier being released . "I assume mine just says a bit too square, a bit too straight."
But he said the dossiers "cross the line". Things such as family problems are not relevant to how politicians do their job, he added.
ALP state secretary Anthony Chisholm said he felt "sick to his stomach" about the dossier and felt sorry for Labor cabinet ministers who would have to explain it to their children.
"I think some of them are going to have to have very difficult conversations with their children," he said on ABC Radio this morning.
"I feel sorry for those kids who are going to have to go to school tomorrow facing the taunts they will cop because of what Mr Newman and the LNP have done.
'There's no facts behind it, it's all gossip, it's all made up."
Mr Chisholm called for the sacking of James McGrath and said that the ALP's own investigations into the runnings of the LNP were not comparable to today's revelations.
"We asked factual questions about Mr Newman (whereas) they have been paying for information."
Only last week, Mr Newman warned voters to expect a "summer of sleaze" from Labor, accusing them of running a dirt unit against his family labelling Premier Anna Bligh "the muck raker, the dirt digger, the sleaze bucket".
As Labor last night demanded the scalps of all those involved, an LNP spokeswoman admitted Mr Hough was hired "for a short period to provide political analysis".
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