Pisasale referred to CCC, booted by Labor

Queensland Labor MP Jo-Ann Miller has referred ex-Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale to the state's corruption watchdog after he was expelled from the party.

Paul Pisasale leaves the Brisbane police watch house

Former Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale has been kicked out of the Labor Party's Queensland branch. (AAP)

Embattled ex-Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale has been referred to Queensland's corruption watchdog over misconduct allegations on the same day he was expelled from the Labor party.

Just hours after being kicked out of the ALP, Queensland Labor MP Jo-Ann Miller referred Pisasale to the Crime and Corruption Commission over allegations made in state parliament last week.

Independent MP Rob Pyne used parliamentary privilege to table the documents and make several allegations against the long-serving former mayor.

Ms Miller said she was concerned about claims in the documents relating to the proposed relocation of the Ipswich police communications centre, at the time she was police minister in 2015.

She was most concerned about allegations Pisasale had been receiving leaked information about police raids and arrests from a police employee at the centre.

"Why did the mayor of Ipswich need to know about the locations of police raids and other operations?" Ms Miller wrote in the statement.

"These are serious questions that Pisasale needs to answer - and given the other matters surrounding him that have been widely reported in the media - these questions need to be answered with urgency."

Ms Miller and Pisasale engaged in a public feud over the issue, culminating in a bizarre incident where the mayor dressed in a blonde wig and pretended to be Ms Miller during an interview with a local podcast.

The Ipswich-based MP also said she would refer the matter to the Queensland Police Ethical Standards Command.

It came on the same day Pisasale's Queensland Labor membership was terminated following his arrest and court appearance on extortion and assault charges.

One of the state's most popular mayors until he resigned in his hospital pyjamas this month citing health concerns, Pisasale appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday following an anti-corruption investigation.

Labor's decision to boot him from the party was announced after Acting Queensland Premier Jackie Trad called on him to resign from the party.

"It's really important now that Paul focuses on his defence," she told reporters on Thursday.

"The allegations against him are very serious."

Ms Trad denied the party was being disloyal to a member in seeking to distance itself from him, and insisted it wasn't trying to sweep the issue under the carpet ahead of a looming state election.


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Source: AAP



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