‘My phone is tapped’ - MP Wellington says police listen in
SUNSHINE Coast MP Peter Wellington says he has "no doubt" his phone conversations are being monitored by police due to his close contact with family members of the Yandina Five.
The Independent Member for Nicklin - a former police officer and lawyer - also said he couldn't guarantee the confidentiality of any conversations on his phones, so he preferred to meet with constituents in person.
Mr Wellington has been a strong opponent of the Newman Government's anti- association laws, which he believes "contravene our basic constitutional rights".
Addressing about 250 people at the Eureka Freedom Rally in Yandina yesterday, he labelled senior police as "puppets" whose actions he claimed were being directed by senior government officials trying desperately to reverse the government's slide in opinion polls.
"They monitor our phones," Mr Wellington told the crowd, made up mainly of bikers.
"And they want to monitor where we go and who we meet with. But come election day, they can't monitor our vote."
When later asked to clarify his phone tapping claims, Mr Wellington said he had "no doubt about it".
"Because of my discussions with members of the Yandina community, who have come to see me as their local member, and because they fell foul of the government's anti-association laws," he said.
"I'm not going to be intimidated; I'll continue to do what's right and my door will remain open to talk to people about their concerns about the abuses of this government."
>> WE'RE PRISONERS IN OUR OWN HOMES, SAY YANDINA FIVE MEMBERS
Mr Wellington also suggested a recent Task Force Maxima media conference was scheduled 30 minutes after a conference by Gympie MP David Gibson, in an attempt to distract attention from details of Mr Gibson's 1999 stealing offences.
"Since our new commissioner has been appointed, we've seen very clearly politicisation of the leadership of the Queensland Police Service," the MP said.
"We want our police service to return to the service that it used to be, where they treat everyone as equal before the law.
"At the moment that's not happening under the leadership of our current commissioner."
About 160 motorcycles took part in the Eureka Freedom Rally which left Redcliffe yesterday morning, before weaving past the Woodford prison, stopping at the Ettamogah Pub and converging on Yandina's Wonga Park sports fields.
It was described by former Rebel bikie Mike Smith as a social ride that had a secondary aim to raise money to help pay for a Supreme Court challenge to last October's new Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment (VLAD) laws.
The Daily contacted the Premier's office, which referred questions to the Police Minister (see above).