CRIMES ACT 1914 – SECT 28 (Commonwealth)
Interfering with political liberty
Any person who, by violence or by threats or intimidation of any kind, hinders or interferes with the free exercise or performance, by any other person, of any political right or duty, shall be guilty of an offence.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 3 years.
LNP facing serious criminal charges
The Queensland Liberal National Party has left itself exposed to criminal charges after the Premier forced all of its parliamentary members to give an affirmation of allegiance to the party and the Premier.
The last week of parliamentary sittings for the year will be a week that Premier Campbell Newman will want to forget.
Amid huge internal dissatisfaction and turmoil, three of his party members deserted the LNP, two remaining as independents and one moving to Katters Australian Party.
Facing mass desertions from his ranks, Newman and the LNP president Bruce McIver in an unprecedented move, forced those remaining to swear allegiance to Newman and the LNP.
Reinforcing this alleged unlawful tactic, Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney from the small farming town of Monto, then presented an Amendment to legislation removing party status from the trio of sitting KAP members.
Seeneys spiteful Amendment to a law guaranteeing KAP party status thus more resources, was passed with Labor Party support.
The Amendment was intended as a warning to other potential defectors that there would be no benefits nor would they become the official Opposition should they move to KAP in sufficient numbers.
The LNP now faces serious criminal charges under the Commonwealth Crimes Act which prescribes three years incarceration for any person who by violence or by threats or intimidation of any kind, hinders or interferes with the free exercise or performance, by any other person, of any political right or duty, shall be guilty of an offence.
The three backbench defectors claimed they were unable to properly represent their electorates because of threats and intimidation by the party when they objected to the LNP not following through on pre-election promises.
The only sworn allegiance an elected member of Parliament can make is to the Queen and Almighty God.
The Commonwealth Constitution of Australia Act does not recognize a political party.
Nor does it recognize the position of Premier, so the LNP has embroiled itself in a serious Constitutional conundrum.
While some legal observers and Magistrates argue the Commonwealth Constitution no longer has any meaning or effect in Queensland, after former ALP premier Peter Beattie in 1991, made substantive amendments to the Queensland Constitution Act 1867, any legal action against the LNP will determine this opinion one way or the other.
No doubt other parties and members of the public will be carefully examining their legal options. ends
QUEENSLAND CRIMINAL CODE – SECT 55
55 Interference with the Legislature
(1) Any person who, by force or fraud, intentionally interferes or attempts to interfere with the free exercise by the Legislative Assembly of its authority, or with the free exercise by any member of the Legislative Assembly of the member’s duties or authority as such member, or as a member of a committee of the Legislative Assembly is guilty of a misdemeanour, and is liable to imprisonment for 3 years.
(2) The offender may be, and it is hereby declared that the offender always was liable to be, arrested without warrant.