QLD corruption stand-off could be overcome
A stalemate over the leadership of Queensland's corruption watchdog appears to have been settled by crossbench MP Rob Katter.
Mr Katter – not to be confused with his father, Katter’s Australian Party leader Bob Katter - was roped in to break the deadlock that formed over the new chair of the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).
Reports say Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath has nominated Alan McSporran QC as the new CCC chair, which will require the approval of the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee (PCCC).
LNP members had been refusing to support the Palaszczuk Government's CCC nominee unless Labor approved former deputy premier Jeff Seeney as chairman of the PCCC.
But the stalemate appears to have broken, with a deal that saw Mount Isa MP Rob Katter take the place of a Labor MP for a PCCC meeting on Tuesday.
This gave Labor the numbers required by law to approve the appointment.
But given that PCCC deliberations are confidential, Mr Katter has not confirmed whether or not he played a role.
LNP committee member Trevor Watts is willing to talk about it, claiming the Government had done a “sneaky deal”.
“This committee now has made a five-year appointment when this committee had temporary members and a temporary chair and I don't think that's good governance for Queensland,” he told ABC reporters..
Ms D'Ath has confirmed that the PCCC approved the Government's nomination, but said she was not aware of the PCCC's deliberations.
Despite this, the Attorney-General said she backed the appointment process.
“The Parliament is made up of a number of elected representatives, not just the LNP,” she said.
“What the LNP need to understand is that while they're playing games and they're willing to bring the Parliamentary processes to a halt, the Government will get on with their job.
“I know that we have put forward the best candidate, someone who is highly respected, highly regarded [and] has the skills and experience to do this job.”
The nomination will now move on to Executive Council deliberations, and a new CCC Chair is expected to take up the role from September 1.
Mr Katter was pleased to hear that the matter had been resolved.
“There was widespread acknowledgement that people want action and they want government to move forward,” he said.
“This is one of those things that needed attention and I think it's a good outcome that there's movement there and a deadlock has been broken.”