The Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) has finalised its misconduct investigation into an allegation that Liberal National Party (LNP) President Bruce McIver offered an inducement to a current sitting LNP member Dr Bruce Flegg not to nominate as a candidate at the next state election.
The CMC has found no evidence to support the allegation.
A complaint was made to the CMC following a television news report which alleged that Mr McIver offered Dr Flegg, as the Member for Moggill, the position of Queensland’s Agent General in London under a future LNP government if he vacated his seat to allow the then Lord Mayor of Brisbane to contest it.
That allegation, if proven, could have constituted an offence of bribery under section 98C of the Criminal Code Act 1899 attracting a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment.
Due to the seriousness of the alleged conduct and the need to maintain public confidence in the state electoral system, the CMC determined to investigate the complaint.
As part of the investigation, the CMC contacted the journalist who, due to professional obligations of confidentiality, did not reveal particulars of the source of the report. However, other contextual information was provided.
During the CMC’s investigation, Mr McIver and Dr Flegg were interviewed under oath and both denied that an offer of a benefit was made or sought to influence the election conduct of Dr Flegg.
The CMC’s investigation also interviewed, under oath, a number of other witnesses.
No evidence was obtained from these witnesses, or from relevant records gathered during the investigation, that could support the allegation that a bribe was offered or sought.
While the CMC’s investigation found that Dr Flegg’s seat of Moggill was a topic of LNP discussions related to the party’s leadership and pre-selection processes, there is no evidence that any criminal offence occurred.
As the complaint has not been substantiated, the CMC does not propose to take any further action concerning this matter.
