A Brisbane council candidate forced to resign from the Liberal National Party over allegations of misconduct with a former high school student will remain on the ballot for this weekend's election.
Ashley Higgins, the LNP's candidate for the ward of Tennyson, resigned from the party on Monday over the allegations, which relate to his time as a minister at a Brisbane Catholic school.
"The LNP expects the highest standards of its candidates and these standards have not been met in this instance," an LNP spokesman said.
But the timing of his resignation means Mr Higgins' name will remain on the ballot as the party's candidate at Saturday's poll.
Mr Higgins could not be contacted on Tuesday and a Facebook page for his campaign had been removed.
Labor's campaign director, Evan Moorhead, called on Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk to explain how Mr Higgins came to be preselected to run as part of the LNP team.
"Graham Quirk should apologise to the people of Brisbane for allowing this candidate to be selected," he said.
"Mr Quirk should also explain how this could happen and ensure that all other LNP candidates have gone through appropriate scrutiny."
News Corp has reported Mr Higgins and the student allegedly sent each other explicit images in 2010, the year he graduated, which then saw the teenager's father contact the school in 2011.
Share
