AFP
A Queensland Parliament Ethics committee has found Katter’s Australian MPs, Robbie Katter and Nick Dametto, in contempt for disorderly conduct over a clash with pro-Palestine protestors.
On March 7, the two backbench MPs were seen outside Queensland Parliament holding a placard with the sign that read “condemn Hamas” to the pro-Palestine protestors, The Canberra Times reported.
A confrontation followed between the MPs and the protestors, who charged at them shouting “shame,” and ripped away the poster, before police escorted the pair away from the scene.
“We should be allowed to have alternative views on things, but these people are completely intolerant of anyone else having another view from them, and were acting like lunatics out there,” Katter said at the time.
The matter was then referred to the parliamentary ethics committee, which tabled its report Friday. The committee demanded the MPs to issue “an unequivocal apology on the floor of the house.”
“Members have a duty to uphold the highest standards of behavior and to preserve the dignity of the parliament,” the committee said. “The members in this matter are long-serving members of parliament who ought to know better.”
While Traeger MP Katter was absent from parliament Friday, member from Hinchinbrook Dametto expressed regret over the incident, ABC News reported.
“I take this opportunity to offer my unequivocal apology to the House for any indignity I have caused to the Queensland parliament as a result of my actions,” Dametto said.
The MPs were also warned of stronger penalties if it happened again in future.
“While the committee has not recommended a period of suspension for both members in light of mitigating circumstances, the committee has foreshadowed that it will take a stronger position if it considers similar matters in the future,” Ethics committee chair Stirling Hinchliffe told the House.
