Queensland Government MP Jo-Ann Miller has broken down in state parliament as she revealed her elderly father has black lung disease.
Speaking as parliament enacted laws to deliver stronger protection for workers suffering from black lung, also called Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis, Ms Miller revealed her father had recently been diagnosed with the disease.
She said staff at WorkCover had notified her of the diagnosis and it was her job to tell her father, who is nearly 91 and living in care.
"One of the hardest things I had to do was tell him that he has black lung. I could not tell him for a couple of days, because I had to get my own head around his reaction, knowing that he may die like his dad died," she told the house on Wednesday night.
Ms Miller, who chaired the parliamentary committee that investigated the re-emergence of black lung, broke down in tears as she spoke of the support of deputy committee chair Lawrence Springborg.
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"There has been many an occasion when the member for Southern Downs has sat next to me and I have had tears streaming down my face because I thought my dad had black lung, and he does."
The legislation makes it easier for workers with the disease to access compensation, and allows them to reopen their claims if their condition deteriorates.
Ms Miller is a former police minister who was dumped in 2015 following months of controversy.
She drew the ire of many in Labor this week when she likened her own party to the notorious Bjelke-Petersen government for failing to act on corruption claims against former Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale.
The Bundamba MP said she had raised allegations against Pisasale, who is currently facing charges of corruption and attempting to pervert the course of justice, but her claims were ignored.
