Qld MP stands by concentration camp speech

A Queensland Labor MP has repeatedly refused to apologise for comparing fly-in, fly-out mines to the Holocaust.

jo-ann_miller_qld_mp_aap.jpg

Jo-Ann Miller. (AAP)

The state government is demanding opposition frontbencher Jo-Ann Miller be disciplined for using a parliamentary speech this week to accuse mining companies of keeping workers in "mining concentration camps".

In an interview on Thursday, Ms Miller repeatedly refused to apologise for her comments, comparing mining accommodation to prisons where six million people, including many Jews, were killed across Europe by the Nazis during the 1940s.

"As I said, there was no intention to cause any offence to anybody," she told Fairfax Radio.

"I'm always willing to explain the background to my comments to any people who may have some concerns."

Ms Miller, the opposition's mines spokeswoman, said workers in central Queensland had asked her to raise their issues in parliament.

But Mines Minister Andrew Cripps said Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk had failed to discipline her Labor colleague.

"The leader of the opposition has a responsibility now to take action to discipline the member for Bundamba, or else this issue will become a problem for her," he told reporters on Thursday.

"The member for Bundamba has continued to demonstrate that she doesn't understand the inappropriateness of her comments and that she doesn't understand why the community is concerned."

Premier Campbell Newman said the Labor leader's father Henry Palaszczuk, a former Queensland mines minister with Polish ancestry, showed principle in 2005 when he withdrew his ministerial oath to the Queen after Prince Harry wore a Nazi uniform.

"It is time for the leader of the opposition to take a stand," he told parliament.

"Her father took a stand on a matter of principle, he showed ticker, he saw somebody do something inappropriate ... that mocked the historic outrage of the Holocaust."

Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney said Ms Miller's refusal to apologise was adding to the outrage over her comments.

"Not just in the Jewish community, but in the mining community," he told parliament.


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Source: AAP


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