Redlands MPs spoke in State parliament this week about Federal MP Andrew Laming, Redlands Mayor Karen Williams and the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC).
Brown mocks Mayor Williams over budget attack
State Parliament ended the week on a jocular note with Don Brown describing Federal MP Andrew Laming as “the gift that keeps giving”.
“The same old Andrew Laming is trolling people online, sending out emails and attacking again. It is good to have you back!” said Mr Brown.
The aspiring LNP candidate for Bowman Mayor Karen Williams was also mocked by Don Brown.
“We also see that the mayor has turned fully blue now and joined the LNP. What did she do today? She launched an extraordinary attack at the state government on a budget that we have not even delivered yet but has made no public comment about Redlands missing out in the federal budget. The Townsville mayor did. The Sunshine Coast mayor did. We are seeing her true colours with her complete silence on the fact that Redlands gets nothing”, he said.
Mr Brown’s speech can be viewed on Parliament TV.
Kim Richards tables papers about Laming
Kim Richards spoke in State Parliament about “abuse and harassment” which she says she has received from Andrew Laming the federal member for Bowman.
“The audacity of the federal member for Bowman to stand up in the federal parliament this week and take offence at being called a taxpayer funded Facebook troll is simply unbelievable, when in his own comments he acknowledges that he is a troll” said Ms Richards as she tabled a document which shows Andrew Laming saying “I can troll them on facebook Shel.”
During her speech Ms Richards tabled a number of other documents.
“The posts go on and on. It is absolutely disturbing. As I said, this is the tip of the iceberg. I have here the rest of them. Talk about character assassination! There it is. It has been a sustained attack. It is an unhealthy obsession. ADHD is no excuse. Sussan Ley stood up in the federal parliament and said that everyone is entitled to respect in the workplace—obviously except in her workplace or our workplace. To suggest that the Morrison government is committed to building a new culture of respect is an absolute farce. I say that the federal member for Bowman is unfit to represent my community and, again, the LNP should do the right thing” said Ms Richards.
Ms Richard’s speech can be viewed on Parliament TV.
Mark Robinson slams QYAC in State Parliament
During debate on legislation to give the Quandamooka people a role in managing Moreton Island, Mark Robinson and most other LNP speakers expressed concerns about secrecy of the Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) between the State Government and the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC).
“Secrecy surrounding the ILUA has meant that locals have not known what was being planned around them” said Dr Robinson.
Interestingly, while various LNP parliamentarians have expressed concern about the confidential agreement with QYAC, they have raised no concerns about the secret Toondah deal that provides for 45 hectares of marine park to be transferred to Walker Group for real estate development.
In his speech on Wednesday, Dr Robinson raised a number of allegations about the conduct of QYAC and its officials:
“Financial irregularities have been reported, including the situation of an AGM report stating it is $1 million in the red. I have seen a copy of that. There is also an ASIC strike-out, which I have also seen a copy of. These were all presented to the hearings. There is millions of dollars being spent but very little being built—largely the government’s fault. There are also issues of conduct, sackings from the ranger program, current rangers with violent criminal histories, illegal tree clearing on North Stradbroke Island without the government doing anything about it—not even really investigating it—and also violent threats and assaults, including towards myself if I was to support an inquiry in this House. I find that completely unacceptable. That is before the Queensland Police Service and is being investigated at this moment.”
Dr Robinson’s speech can be viewed on Parliament TV.
During the next speech by Ms Ali King (Labor Pumicestone), Dr Robinson was warned for making interjections then ejected from State Parliament for the rest of the session. Ms King’s speech can be viewed on Parliament TV.
The Nature Conservation and Other Legislation (Indigenous Joint Management—Moreton Island) Amendment Bill, passed by Parliament on 13 May, will result in 17,000 hectares of national and conservation parkland on Moreton Island (Mulgumpin) being transferred to the Quandamooka people.
In a story published today, the Courier Mail reported that the corporate governance and financial management of QYAC was sound according to an audit by the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations.
Transcripts of speeches in State Parliament
If you want to know exactly what was said in Parliament by local MPs about local issues, here are the transcripts from the three speeches mentioned above. Click on any of these speeches to read them.
Don Brown 
Kim Richards 
Mark Robinson
Redlands2030 – 15 May 2021
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2 Comments
A simple question
How can a deal to build Toondah harbour be made if it is protected by RAMSAR?
How did this occur ?
Please explain how this happened.
Jane Fry
It is pleasing to see that finally the secretive and suspicious agreements being made between the Queensland State Labor Government and certain key members of QYAC are being investigated because the traditional elders on Straddie have been kept in the dark since 2011 when the agreement was established. In the same way it is pleasing to see that one of the secretive agreements that was made between Redland City Council (RCC) and Walker Corporation in relation to a binding agreement involving the eradication of 42 hectares of Ramsar protected shorebird zone in order to construct 3,600 units, is also being investigated. I attended a Wednesday morning session of RCC where a councillor asked about the nature of that secret agreement with Walker Corporation. It is on the record. That councillor was informed in that meeting by the current Mayor that his question could not be answered because of “commercial in confidence.” The group known as Redlands 2030 has also submitted legal documentation in an effort to “reveal the deal” in relation to the Toondah Proposal. That submission proved fruitless. The Council has many questions to answer about the continued support since 2013 of the Toondah Proposal.