{"id":27333,"date":"2015-04-04T15:12:16","date_gmt":"2015-04-04T04:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/?p=27333"},"modified":"2019-04-13T23:56:13","modified_gmt":"2019-04-13T13:56:13","slug":"get-your-house-in-order-the-media-trial-of-billy-gordon-qldpol-mediawatch-qldaah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/get-your-house-in-order-the-media-trial-of-billy-gordon-qldpol-mediawatch-qldaah\/","title":{"rendered":"Get your house in order – The media trial of Billy Gordon: #qldpol #MediaWatch @Qldaah"},"content":{"rendered":"
Live\u00a0blog of events surrounding the Gordon case.
\n\"The<\/a><\/h6>\n

\"GetYourHouseInOrder2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Table of contents<\/h3>\n
Introduction.<\/a><\/h6>\n
Get your house in order.<\/a><\/h6>\n
Domestic violence is not a political tool – Ross Bowler.<\/a><\/h6>\n
Cairns Now<\/em> and Gavin King.<\/a><\/h6>\n

The updates section<\/h3>\n

(January 21, 2016) –\u00a0Extortion complaint against Christine Gibson dropped.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(December 23, 2015) – Billy Gordon vows comeback.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(December\u00a009, 2015) – Matter against\u00a0Christine Dawn Gibson adjourned.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(November\u00a007, 2015) – Entsch hunts Gordon.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(October 29, 2015) – Gordon cleared of sexting allegations.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(October 26, 2015) – Significant power.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(October 25, 2015) – Gordon a condemned man, no matter which way he votes.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(October 24, 2015) – NSW police clear Gordon of Kristy Peckham claims.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(October 23, 2015) –\u00a0Two staffers leave Gordon employ.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(October 20, 2015) – The Courier Mail and LNP link Gordon to Labor over coffee.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(October 19, 2015) – The Courier Mail’s renewed push for Cook by-election.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(October 18, 2015) –\u00a0Gordon using Labor resources.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(October 15, 2015) – Pat O’Shane says Gordon shouldn’t cave in.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(October 14, 2015) –\u00a0Premier won’t call on Gordon to resign.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(October 13, 2015) – Fourth\u00a0woman claims explicit\u00a0photos.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(October 12, 2015) -Third woman claims lewd photo.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(October 10, 2015) – Second unnamed woman claims lewd photo.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(October 9, 2015) – Christine Gibson appears in court.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(September 25, 2015) – Woman charged with extortion.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(September 24, 2015) – Billy Gordon cleared.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(August 5, 2015) – Referred for legal opinion.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(June 18, 2015) – A twist in the tale.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(May 21, 2015) –\u00a0Billy Gordon makes maiden speech.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(May 20, 2015) – Gordon votes against government, reports Courier Mail.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(May 19, 2015) – Springborg accepts Gordon’s vote.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(May 6, 2015) – Why KAP voted with the government.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(May 5, 2015) – Billy Gordon on the crossbench.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(May 2, 2015) – I have never laid a hand on a woman – Billy Gordon.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(May\u00a01, 2015) – Second former partner\u00a0Sascha Bee tells her story to ACA.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 28, 2015) – Springborg comfortable with manner child support documents obtained.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 27, 2015) – Springborg admits to releasing Gordon – Pekham files.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 24, 2015) –\u00a0Kristy Pekham – Only LNP helped me.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 23, 2015) –\u00a0Kristy Pekham speaks to A Current Affair.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 20, 2015) –\u00a0Returning to work as independent MP.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 15, 2015) – Morgan Poll puts Labor ahead.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 14, 2015) – ‘I\u2019m not meddling’ – Warren Entsch.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 13, 2015) – Warren Entsch surfaces post-Galaxy poll.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 12, 2015) –\u00a0Courier Mail Galaxy poll claims voters want Gordon to resign.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 10, 2015) – Barrister Andrew Boe representing Billy Gordon.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 9, 2015) –\u00a0When The Borg knew.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 8, 2015) – Billy Gordon confirms MP status.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 7, 2015) – The Courier Mail claims it’s being ridiculed.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 6, 2015) – Election now!<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 5, 2015) – The Sunday Mail columns – political blame trail.\u00a0<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 4, 2015) –\u00a0The rule of law.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 3, 2015) –\u00a0The long political rivalry in FNQ.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 2, 2015) – Affording natural justice.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(April 1, 2015) – Driving the allegations.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(March 31, 2015) – Gordon decides, Cook awaits and The Courier Mail attacks.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(March 30, 2015) – Billy Gordon resigns from Labor before being sacked.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(March 29, 2015) – Palaszczuk sacks Billy Gordon from Labor Party.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(March 28, 2015) –\u00a0Revelations.<\/a><\/h6>\n
(March 27, 2015) – Referred to police.<\/a><\/h6>\n

.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h3>\n

This is a live\u00a0blog and archive of the events leading up to the police findings into allegations of domestic violence made against Queensland Labor MP for Cook\u00a0Billy Gordon.<\/a>\u00a0In reading, please bear in mind three basic principles.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • We assume the presumption of innocence.<\/li>\n
  • We await the police investigation into the allegations.<\/li>\n
  • We uphold the rule of law.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Please check back for updates.<\/p>\n

    .<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

    Get your house in order – The media trial of Billy Gordon<\/h3>\n

    “I made it fundamentally clear to the member for Cook that he must get his house in order\u00a0immediately. The issue has been dealt with and the member has made a personal explanation.”<\/p>\n

    Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk<\/a>‘s angry response in Queensland question time rang out through the parliamentary chamber\u00a0on Friday, March 27, 2015.<\/a> She’d previously stated that she expected the highest standard from all of her MPs. The Opposition was no questioning her standards.\u00a0News had broken that Labor government MP\u00a0Billy Gordon<\/a>\u00a0had failed to meet child support payments and was guilty of non-lodgement of tax returns. They wanted to\u00a0know what the premier had known and what action she’d taken over Gordon.<\/p>\n

    Prior to question time, a\u00a0purported meeting with herself and Gordon in the presence of Deputy Premier Jackie Trad<\/a>\u00a0resulted in him pledging to get his house in order by making the required child support payments and lodging his tax returns. The premier also asked Gordon if there were any other issues outstanding which she should be made aware of. There were none, affirmed Gordon.<\/p>\n

    However, worse was to come after question time\u00a0with allegations of domestic violence made by Gordon’s former partner dating from\u00a0circa\u00a02006. The premier later advised an email had arrived on March 13 but had not been brought to her attention until March 18-19. The allegations and email were referred to Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart<\/a>\u00a0on the afternoon of Friday, March 27.<\/p>\n

    Both the Liberal National Party Opposition and The Courier Mail<\/em><\/a> launched full scale attacks on Labor, Premier Palaszczuk and Speaker Peter Wellington<\/a> on what they knew and why there\u00a0was a\u00a0length of time between the email arriving and matters being handed to police. Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg<\/a> accused Premier Palaszczuk of a cover-up and challenged her credibility. He\u00a0also challenged Labor’s vetting process for new candidates.<\/p>\n

    With 44 MPs, Palaszczuk’s minority Labor Government relies on the 45th vote of Speaker Wellington to pass legislation where the Liberal National Party or Katter’s Australian Party wont support it. If a by-election was triggered by Gordon resigning his seat of Cook, and a change to the LNP occurred, \u00a0it would give Springborg 43 seats and a chance to take government with support of the two KAP MPs.<\/p>\n

    However, by Sunday morning, the situation had worsened. Gordon detailed\u00a0a string of prior criminal offences dating between 1987 – 2008 but denied the allegations of physical domestic violence. He also listed an apprehended violence order that had been raised after an argument with his mother in 2008. His\u00a0mother was later to clarify\u00a0that she did not request the AVO lodged by police. The dispute centred around a verbal argument and no physical violence was reported. As a result, the matter never went to court.<\/p>\n

    When Labor performed their standard police security checks for new candidates, no\u00a0crimes were returned from Gordon as under the\u00a0Criminal Law <\/a><\/em>(Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986<\/a>,<\/em> all qualified for\u00a0expunction as they were greater than ten years old.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Billy Gordon has issued an apology on Facebook for failing to disclose parts of his criminal history #qldpol<\/a> #9News<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/65wmJsUbb2<\/a><\/p>\n

    — Nine News Queensland (@9NewsQueensland) March 28, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n