6 days ago
Convicted murderer snapped volunteering for Labor Party with Queensland MP Wendy Bourne in lead up to federal election
Queensland MP Wendy Bourne has been pictured next to a convicted murderer sporting a Labor Party T-shirt as the pair campaigned together for the party in April, a now-deleted post on social media has revealed.
John William Holznagel was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his estranged wife and her boyfriend in 1979, but he only ended up serving around 13 years of the sentence imposed.
The Sunday Mail revealed that Mr Holznagel is now a preacher in the southeast Queensland town of Rosewood, west of Ipswich.
He has also helped campaign for the Labor Party in the town in the lead up to this year's federal election.
The revelation comes after the convicted murderer was spotted with the Queensland member for Ipswich West in a picture posted to social media on April 19, which has since been deleted from the website.
In the photo, Mr Holznagel appears to be volunteering for the political party as he wears a Labor Party T-shirt displaying Ms Bourne's name on the front.
The pair had been spreading the word about the Albanese government's 'record cost of living relief' and 'record spending on locals roads' in Rosewood that day, according to the caption of the post.
Labor have said Ms Bourne was unaware of the convicted murder's background when the photo was taken, The Courier Mail has reported.
has approached Ms Bourne for comment.
Mr Holznagel was aged 24 when he killed his estranged wife Christine Joan Holznagel, 20, and her boyfriend John Steven Kingston, 22, more than 40 years ago in suburban Brisbane.
The apparent blunder by the Queensland MP to be in a picture with Mr Holznagel joins a number of controversies that have surrounded 2025 federal election campaign volunteers.
Minister for Housing Clare O'Neil became entangled in a controversy after it was revealed that ten individuals associated with Hubei Association, a group accused of having ties to the Chinese Communist Party, were being recruited to staff her polling booths on election day.
Teal MP Monique Ryan was also embroiled in the situation as a video emerged of a volunteer for her campaign saying that Hubei Assocation president Ji Jianmin "required us Chinese diaspora to support her".
Labor MP Andrew Charlton was also filmed questioning Liberal Party volunteers about their religion in his Parramatta electorate, in footage which showed him approaching a person and asking "Are you a member of the exclusive Brethren? Are you?".
Sky News host Chris Kenny at the time the footage surfaced suggested Mr Charlton's questioning of volunteers was "odd".
"What business is it of Charlton's to ask people about their religion. Why is it relevant?" Kenny asked.
