Steve Dickson 'knocked off' documents before One Nation defection, LNP alleges

Updated

The LNP has accused former member Steve Dickson of stealing documents from the party's secure website, just hours before his defection to One Nation.

Key points: Documents are "not available to people who are going to jump ship": Tim Nicholls says

Steve Dickson denies stealing, says LNP representatives "swimming in the mud"

Media advisor subsequently confirms LNP documents were downloaded, but not considered theft as Mr Dickson was a LNP member at the time

The LNP said someone in Mr Dickson's office downloaded documents from the party's secure website on Friday, before he quit the party and announced he had joined Pauline Hanson's One Nation.

It said One Nation had agreed to destroy the stolen documents, but the party was yet to receive proof that has occurred.

Mr Dickson has denied "stealing anything" and One Nation has refused to comment.

LNP leader Tim Nicholls said the documents allegedly downloaded by Mr Dickson were not policy documents.

Mr Nicholls said he was disappointed by Mr Dickson's behaviour but said the documents had not contained any party secrets.

"They're documents about how to hold a meeting and how the LNP's constitution is run," he said.

"They're just internal documents of that type that are the property of the LNP, they're the property of the members of the LNP.

"They're available to people who are members of the LNP — they're not available to people who are going to jump ship."

'A carefully orchestrated plan'

Mr Nicholls said Mr Dickson had revealed his true character.

"I think it's disappointing that someone who's professed their loyalty to the LNP, less than 24 hours before jumping ship, thinks it's OK to knock off documents from the LNP," he said.

"I think everyone would say what that means about the character and the assessment of the person who's done that.

"This has been a carefully orchestrated plan by Mr Dickson and his office, and that's the disappointing part about it — it's sort of deliberate subterfuge — which I think really speaks volumes of the character of the person we're talking about."

LNP representatives swimming in the mud, Dickson says

But Mr Dickson said in a social media post yesterday morning he had not stolen anything from the LNP.

"We've stolen nothing, my staff have stolen nothing, One Nation have stolen nothing and I've stolen nothing," Mr Dickson said in a video post on Facebook.

"This is just a distortion of the truth by one of the major political parties of this country — this is what the ALP and the LNP are all about — misleading the people of Queensland.

"To be brutally honest, the shackles are off me now — I've had a gutful of what they've been treating the people of Queensland like and the people of Australia.

"When the LNP representatives are down there swimming in the mud and casting aspersions upon people like myself, my staff, my family — all the people who represent One Nation ... I think we've got to rise up and say 'we've had enough of this'.

"You swim in the mud, I'm going to fly in the sky and I'm going to look after all Queenslanders because that's what they deserve — nothing less than the best possible representation they can get - that's my job."

Documents were downloaded, Dickson media advisor says

Mr Dickson's media advisor said LNP documents were downloaded, but it was not considered theft as Mr Dickson was a LNP member at the time.

The advisor said any documents downloaded from the website just before Mr Dickson's Buderim MP's defection would be destroyed.

Labor's Mick de Brenni said the LNP must be honest with Queenslanders and reveal what was actually in the documents.

"I think Queenslanders probably want to know what the LNP is so worried about," he said.

"It's this sort of heavy-handed tactics that's probably led to Steve Dickson dumping the LNP in the first place."

Mr de Brenni said Mr Dickson's defection could be the start of an exodus from the LNP.

"I think these latest revelations are how the LNP must be feeling about Tim Nicholls' leadership — I wouldn't be surprised to see more MP's leaving the LNP," he said.

Topics: liberal-national-party, political-parties, government-and-politics, one-nation, state-parliament, brisbane-4000, qld, australia, maroochydore-4558, buderim-4556

First posted