Corruption watchdog given Palmer papers

Queensland deputy premier Jeff Seeney has handed over all documents relating to dealings with Clive Palmer to the state's corruption watchdog.

Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer

(AAP)

All dealings Clive Palmer has had with the Newman government will be forwarded to the state's corruption watchdog.

Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney hasn't made a formal complaint and says it will be up to the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) to assess if the federal politician acted inappropriately.

Mr Seeney said the mining magnate sought preferential treatment for his coal projects in 2012, which were rejected.

Newly released documents suggesting that in early 2013, Mr Palmer offered to drop three legal cases against the government if it approved his rail line in the untapped Galilee Basin.

"That's just crazy stuff and I told him so," Mr Seeney said.

He says staff were gathering all correspondence his office and the government have had with the businessman and will be giving it all to the CMC.

The deputy premier may have breached laws by sitting on a possible claim of official misconduct for so long.

"At the time, we were a new government, we were about creating jobs for Queenslanders," he said.

"I conceded that (that I had an obligation to report).

"With the benefit of hindsight given the way Clive Palmer has gone, it probably would have been better not to try to deal with him."

Labor's Yvette D'Ath says if the allegations are genuine, the government was required report to the CMC any suspicions of misconduct at the time.

"They need to come out and say why they are now coming out and doing it two years later," Ms D'Ath said.

Mr Palmer says Mr Seeney and Premier Campbell Newman have made up the allegations, and want to hurt him because he's suing the premier for defamation.

He warned Mr Seeney's deceitful actions could land him in legal hot water.

"It's a criminal act to refer an allegation to the CMC which you know to be untrue," Mr Palmer told AAP on Tuesday.

"The sooner he's thrown out of parliament the better."

Mr Palmer declared all out war with LNP not long after Mr Newman became premier, and he threw in his life membership in November 2012.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world