Qld MP resigns

QUEENSLAND Premier Peter Beattie faces the prospect of Labor’s third by-election loss in seven months after his absent backbencher Robert Poole resigned yesterday to live in Thailand. Poole claims he was in Thailand to undergo knee surgery and to be with his family. The Thai hospital says he had an appointment on 14 Feb but hasn’t been seen since and certainly hasn’t had any surgery.

Servants at Mr Poole’s Thai house said yesterday that he had not been seen there for at least two weeks, but had been busy working in the yard in January despite being in the country for a serious knee operation.

Just love the ‘servants’ bit. Beattie gave him three months leave to sort out the problem and appointed another MP to look after his election. The other MP promptly flew off to Thailand and Beattie claims to be surprised.

The MP tendered his resignation in a handwritten letter to Mr Beattie, hand-delivered by Ipswich Labor MP Don Livingstone, who made an unauthorised trip to Thailand last week to visit his friend and colleague.

Does Beattie expect us to believe that there is so little coordination, process and disipline in the Qld Labour Party that MPs can wonder off will-nilly to anywhere in the world? There’s a couple of questions going begging here such as; when talking to the stand-in MP did Beattie state the obvious… ‘I expect you to be in your electorate whilst so appointed’ and if he did why didn’t the MP say ‘well I’m planning a trip to Thailand myself’ Of course questions should have been asked of Poole at preselection. Questions that normally people would not find a need to ask such as; ‘If elected do you intend to represent your electorate or do you plan to leave Australia and live overseas?’ Beattie is being back-footed every week and it doesnt bode well for his chances of re-election. The only fly in that ointment is the standing of the local opposition. It’s a worry.