In a statement issued today, former Speaker Peter Slipper has called on his LNP opponent in the Fisher electorate, Mal Brough, to stand down from being a candidate at the 7 September poll.
Mr Slipper said confirmation by Clive Palmer that Brough had approached him to fund James Ashby demonstrated he was not fit to become an MP:
“Given the very strong statement made yesterday by Mr Clive Palmer, which confirmed that he had been approached by Mr Brough to fund the failed Ashbygate litigation which was thrown out of the Federal Court by Justice Rares as an abuse of process, Mal Brough is simply not fit to be a candidate for election”.
“Mal Brough said to me that we needed to destroy Peter Slipper”, Mr Palmer said at his media conference.
Mr Palmer added:
“To me it seemed there was no case at all against Mr Slipper… that it was something no court would entertain."
Mr Palmer also said Mr Brough asked him to employ a number of people, believed to include Slipper’s former media officer, Karen Doane.
“Despite denials from Mr Brough to a local daily newspaper on Wednesday night, Mr Palmer was adamant that Mr Brough asked him to fund the case”, said Mr Slipper.
Mr Palmer said that he did not support anything Mal Brough had done in relation to Mr Slipper.
“We don’t want people in politics who are desperate to get there at any price,” said Mr Palmer.
Mr Palmer also said “that people should not lie in politics”
Mr Slipper said:
“The Liberal National Party is a party that usually demands high standards of its candidates and I call on the LNP to strip Mr Brough of his endorsement for Fisher if he fails to stand down voluntarily.”
However, as we have reported, Clive Palmer allegedly told Peter Slipper and another party that Joe Hockey was also present at the meeting in whch Brough allegedly laid out his Ashby plans. IA today sought clarification from Palmer about why, yesterday, he said Hockey was not there.
As at time of publication, we have not received a response.
Find out more about the James Ashby combination.
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