Queensland Labor expels MP after LNP raises domestic violence allegations
The member for Stafford, Jimmy Sullivan, was subsequently ejected from the Labor party entirely on Monday night, after a meeting of its administrative committee.
The vote to remove Sullivan from Labor's caucus came after allegations of involvement in a 'domestic and family violence incident' were raised by the Liberal National party in parliament.
The MP responded to his expulsion in a defiant statement on Monday night, labelling it a 'cheap political move'.
Labor MPs voted to kick Sullivan out in an extraordinary caucus meeting on Monday, with all MPs but Sullivan himself backing the motion put forth by Miles. The opposition leader subsequently claimed the MP had failed to comply with a 'safe return to work plan' after taking extended leave from parliament.
Caucus also voted to refer Sullivan to the party's administrative committee for potential dismissal from Labor. On Monday night, the committee decided to expel him from the Labor party.
Allegations have swirled around Sullivan since media reports last year that police were called to his home on 27 October last year. No charges were laid.
It was the day after Sullivan was re-elected as the member for Stafford.
Amanda Camm, the Liberal National party government's minister for the prevention of domestic violence, told parliament on 30 April that Sullivan 'was involved in an alleged domestic violence incident' and described him as 'an alleged perpetrator of domestic and family violence'.
Labor says that legal matters involving Sullivan were dismissed by a magistrate in their entirety. The MP took four months' leave from late October and returned to work in February.
The motion to dismiss Sullivan was moved by Miles and seconded by his deputy, Cameron Dick on Monday.
At a brief press conference at parliament, Miles said Sullivan had been set a 'safe return to work plan' for the MP.
It included 'what you would expect to see in a return to work plan for somebody who had to take extended leave for personal and health matters', Miles said.
That included keeping the party and the parliamentary leadership informed about his health status at regular intervals.
'He hasn't complied with that plan, and as a result, we have sought caucus support to take this action,' Miles said.
Miles said Sullivan had not provided any updates 'for some time'. He said 'party elders' and others in Labor had tried to convince him to 'take an appropriate course of action'.
He said Sullivan could now choose to remain an MP on the cross-bench or resign.
'The Labor party does and always has set a very high standard for our members of parliament,' he said.
Sullivan said the premise of Miles' motion was 'completely untrue'.
'I complied with every requirement placed on me, and more, and that was articulated to the leadership team in detail in my return to work,' he said.
'This is a cheap political move - one that is not just personally hurtful but also against the principles of our great party. I will continue to represent my Labor branch members who preselected me and supported me and my beautiful community who elected me twice as a Labor MP'.
Labor has come under sustained pressure from the LNP government over Sullivan.
At parliament's last sitting, Camm accused deputy leader Dick of running a 'protection racket' for the MP.
But Miles denied politics had anything to do with his decision on Monday.
Asked if Sullivan could regain the trust of the party, Miles said 'as far as I'm concerned, this is final'.
'There has been long process here, and the caucus has taken an unprecedented step. The support for this motion was unanimous, other than the member for Stafford, and has the effect of expelling him from the caucus.'
Sullivan attended the meeting, which ran about 20 minutes, Miles said, and spoke in his own defence.
The son of Terry Sullivan, who served as member for Stafford from 2001 to 2006, Sullivan has held the seat since 2020.
The Guardian understands Sullivan intends to serve out his term.
In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The wannabe Sherlocks and Agathas think they know why Erin Patterson became a killer. CANDACE SUTTON has the evidence that proves they've fallen for a narcissist's lies
Few murder mysteries have captured the public's imagination like the Leongatha mushroom poisonings. But whenever a macabre true-crime tale dominates headlines, you inevitably have wannabe sleuths who are convinced they have it all worked out.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
JK Rowling attacks 'cheat' trans athlete who slammed Donald Trump over LA Olympics ban
Harry Potter author has slammed a transgender Australian athlete for complaining about potentially being banned from the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Hannah Mouncey, born Callum, competed for the Australian men's handball team before transitioning in 2015 and playing for her country's women's team. President Trump, meanwhile, has overseen a huge push this year to keep trans athletes out of women's sports across all levels of competition - an issue he campaigned heavily on last year. At the beginning of August, the Deparment of Homeland Security updated visa rules to stop transgender women traveling to the United States to compete in elite sporting events. 'You're banning someone from competing who has done nothing wrong,' Mouncey, 35, said in an interview with Code AFL in Australia, responding to the developments. 'This is no fault of their own. People who have willingly gone out and doped are allowed to compete again in four years.' As the interview on the polarizing topic gained traction it caught the eye of Rowling, a fierce citic of trans athletes competing against women. "They've actually done nothing wrong." WATCH THE FULL EP ➡️ — CODE AFL (@codeaflau) August 16, 2025 'Man fears he won't be allowed to cheat his way to the Olympics by playing against women,' Rowling wrote, linking to a report on Mouncey's comments. 'Man says anti-cheat sentiment is being 'weaponised' against men like him, who cheat. Read more here about why the cheating man is sad and why the women he might injure just don't matter.' Rowling's stance has caused friction with her huge following from writing the Harry Potter series but it remains something she is defiant on. In the Code AFL interview, Mouncey said she expects to be banned from competing 'by the end of the year, if I am honest.' Mouncey continued: 'I'm sure there'll be challenges coming for it. There just will be. It seems like that is where they are going at the moment, they are looking probably at a ban across the board, and not just for trans athletes, but intersex athletes. They will be forced to compete in the men's competition. 'But I am playing for Australia at the moment, I have played for the Australian women's team for seven or eight years now, and I have had no issues really at all, especially from overseas.' But the United States Citizenship and Immigration Proccess released a statement on August 4 underlining the determination to enforce the ruling. 'It's a matter of safety, fairness, respect, and truth that only female athletes receive a visa to come to the U.S. to participate in women's sports,' they said in a statement. 'The Trump Administration is standing up for the silent majority who've long been victims of leftist policies that defy common sense.' The issue was a huge talking point in last year's Paris Olympics, especially in women's boxing. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif received major international scrutiny as she fought her way to a gold medal, sparked in part by Italian boxer Angela Carini tearfully quitting their fight after 46 seconds and refusing to shake Khelif's hand. While Khelif is not transgender, she was alleged to have failed a gender test two years ago. The previous governing body for Olympic boxing, the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association, had disqualified Khelif from its 2023 world championships after claiming she failed unspecified eligibility tests. But the IBA was banished for decades of misdeeds and controversy. The IOC ran the past two Olympic boxing tournaments in its place and it applied the sex eligibility rules used in previous Olympics. Khelif was eligible to compete under those standards. Khelif, 26, was widely expected to return to boxing in June in the Netherlands but the Olympic champion skipped the Eindhoven Box Cup after World Boxing announced mandatory sex testing for all athletes. The Los Angeles Olympics run from July 14-30, 2028.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Why Nauru's $1billion deal with mysterious Chinese company might have breached treaty with Australia
Australia is working to confirm whether Nauru has breached a security treaty following a $1billion announcement with a Chinese company. Nauru must receive Australia's sign-off on any partnership, arrangement or engagement with a third nation when it comes to security, including critical infrastructure such as banking and telecommunications. Under the treaty, signed in December 2024, Australia would prop up Nauru's banking sector, provide $100 million in budget support and $40 million for policing in exchange for an effective veto right over other security agreements. Pacific Minister Pat Conroy said the Australian government was working with Nauru to determine whether a development deal with the China Rural Revitalisation and Development Corporation, signed on August 5, activated treaty obligations. 'That is a really important treaty for us, that helps position us as a security partner of choice with Nauru,' Mr Conroy said in Brisbane on Tuesday. The first part of the three-phase deal with the Chinese corporation covers renewable energy, the phosphate industry, marine fisheries and sea infrastructure. Mr Conroy said Australia wasn't opposed to development and economic assistance from other nations in the Pacific. 'We think other countries should be doing their fair share and investing in the Pacific. That's a good thing for the region,' he said. 'What we've been very clear is that every country in the world should respect the views of the Pacific Islands Forum, the leaders' consensus, which is that security should be provided by countries within the PIF.' Mr Conroy has stated China should play no security role in the Pacific. The jostling for influence between China and traditional partners like Australia in the Pacific has also been on display ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in the Solomon Islands in September. Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele has banned all development partners from attending after pressure from China to exclude Taiwan from the forum. The push to exclude Taiwan, which Beijing claims is part of its territory, split Pacific leaders, some of which still recognise Taiwan over China. Some forum nations and development partners have expressed that any attendance of Chinese officials at forum events is a red line. It followed an incident at the 2024 leaders meeting in Tonga where the leaders' communique was altered after China's Pacific envoy expressed anger at a provision referencing Taiwan. Mr Conroy said the decision to exclude dialogue partners by the Solomon Islands was 'unfortunate'. 'We think that every dialogue partner should have been invited to the PIF... whether that's China, Taiwan, the United States, United Kingdom, whoever, you name it,' he said. 'We think the 1992 status quo, the consensus around dialogue partner engagement should be maintained.' The invitation of development partners began in 1992 and includes Taiwan. Australia has been working to shore up its foothold in the Pacific by signing numerous security and defence co-operation treaties, some of which include exclusivity clauses. The pact with Papua New Guinea precludes any security presence from China. A defence pact allowing its citizens to serve in the Australian Defence Force is set to be inked at the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of its independence in Port Moresby in September. But a treaty with Kiribati has been more elusive, with negotiations effectively put on ice by the Maamau government. Mr Conroy declined to detail the status of the negotiations. 'We're engaging with all Pacific island nations on their interests and we've made it very clear that we're open to doing deals, negotiating beneficial arrangements for any Pacific nation that is interested in talking to us,' he said.
