Whitsunday MP absent from Parliament
WHITSUNDAY MP Jason Costigan will be absent from Queensland Parliament this week in what was to be his first time sitting as an independent.
This week marks the first Parliament sitting of the year and the first since Mr Costigan became an independent after he was expelled from the Liberal National Party in the wake of harassment allegations levelled against him last month.
Parliament resumed on Tuesday after 89 days as Mr Costigan was set to appear on the crossbench as an independent.
It is understood speaker Curtis Pitt said he had received a notification from Mr Costigan that he would be absent this week, which complied with Parliament rules.
Mr Costigan was expelled from the LNP after the family of a young woman complained to police and the LNP over the MP's alleged behaviour.
Mr Costigan responded to allegations claiming he was the victim of a "stitch-up”.
"There's been no misconduct and these are baseless allegations,” he said.
A second complaint was forwarded to the LNP's disputes committee for investigation shortly after.
Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington called on Mr Costigan to resign his seat rather than join the crossbench.
Mr Costigan was contacted for comment today, but he did not answer calls from the Whitsunday Times.
