Andrew Laming

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Andrew Laming
Andrew Laming
Andrew Laming being approached by a lobby group
Andrew Laming being approached by a lobby group

Andrew Charles Laming (born 30 September 1966), Australian politician, was elected to the House of Representatives as member for the Division of Bowman, Queensland for the Liberal Party of Australia at the 2004 federal election. He was an ophthalmic surgeon and management consultant before entering politics.

Laming qualified in medicine at University of Queensland and is a fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists and holds a Diploma in obstetrics and gynaecology from the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He also has a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government Harvard University, a Masters of Public Policy from Charles Darwin University and a Masters of Philosophy in Public Health from Sydney University. He has worked in public health, economics, ophthalmology, international systems and finance, including a period with the World Bank in Washington DC and as a health planning specialist in the East Timor Transitional Authority.

In his first Parliamentary term, Laming was appointed Government representative on the UNESCO National Commission. He also played a key role in the 2006 pharmaceutical reforms, the National Chaplaincy initiative and the RU486 debate.

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[edit] Printing controversy

In 2007, Laming and fellow Queensland Liberal MHRs Gary Hardgrave and Ross Vasta were accused of fraudulently claiming AUD$67,000 of taxpayer funds for printing campaign material, with speculation in the media and the Queensland Parliament that the funds had been diverted to the Liberals' 2006 state election campaign.[1] On 2 March 2007, the Australian Federal Police, acting on search warrants, conducted a raid on the three MHRs' electoral offices as well as those of a printing company and a graphic artist.[2] [3] Laming described the incident as a "routine visit", while Liberal state leader Bruce Flegg noted that "this is one of a number of printers that would be regularly used by both the party and its members", and that he was not aware of anything untoward.[4]

The incident was particularly embarrassing for the Federal Liberal Party—John Howard later admitted he had been notified the night before of the raid, and the matter overshadowed a planned trip to Queensland to formally announce the AUD$2.5-million Goodna bypass, as well as an attack on Labor leader Kevin Rudd.[5] By 8 March, Laming had become the focus of the investigation, and was also being investigated by police for claiming funds for an unfilled electorate staff position,[6] while allegations by an anonymous source were reported in the press that a person associated with Liberal Senator and factional heavyweight Santo Santoro, the Minister for Ageing, was behind the moves.[7] (On 16 March, Santoro was forced to quit Parliament amid revelations he had failed to report personal share dealings on behalf of a conservative family association, in violation of the ministerial code of conduct.)[8]

Press speculation smouldered for some months, with criticism by the Liberal Party over excessive delays in investigating the case. This intensified after Ross Vasta was cleared on 13 August and Gary Hardgrave on 11 September. On 12 September Gary Hardgrave cast further doubt on the integrity of the AFP investigation when he revealed the AFP officer behind the investigation was not only a member of the Labor Party as previously reported in the Courier-Mail,[9] but was also the estranged wife of Queensland Government Transport Minister Paul Lucas.[10][11]

The Courier-Mail additionally reported that federal police were examining whether Andrew Laming's signature on a range of documentation had been forged.[12] The Australian repeated claims by police that all three MPs had failed to cooperate with police, and that Laming had failed to hand over a sample of his signature to rule out its alleged forgery.[13] Laming strongly denied this, saying he had not received any official requests apart from the request for his signature, which had only just been made.[13] On 28 September 2007, the police decided not to proceed with the prosecution against Laming, following advice from the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions that the evidence supplied by the Federal Police did not establish reasonable prospects of securing a conviction. Laming described the entire affair as a "very trying experience" for himself and his family, and said that he welcomed the decision.[14]

[edit] 2007 election

At the 2007 federal election, it appeared on the night that Andrew Laming had lost Bowman to Labor rival Jason Young on a large swing. However, counting of pre-poll votes which progressed over the next couple of weeks placed Laming marginally ahead, and the Australian Electoral Commission eventually declared him the winner on a 50.04% margin—just 64 votes ahead—having suffered a two party swing of 8.86%, compared with the Queensland state average of 7.53%.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Marriner, Cosima. "Three Lib MPs raided over use of print funds", The Age, 6 March 2007, p. 9. Retrieved on 2008-01-28. 
  2. ^ Australian Associated Press. "Federal Police raid Liberal MPs", Sydney Morning Herald, 6 March 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-28. 
  3. ^ "Qld Liberal MPs deny wrongdoing after police raids", ABC Online, 6 March 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-28. 
  4. ^ "Police raid routine, says Liberal MP", Herald Sun, 6 March 2007. Retrieved on 2007-03-06. 
  5. ^ McKenna, Michael. "Howard MP raided over allowance 'rorts'", The Australian, p. 1. Retrieved on 2008-01-28. 
  6. ^ Marriner, Cosima; Coorey, Phillip. "Big spender has Libs in bind", Sydney Morning Herald, 8 March 2007, p. 1. Retrieved on 2008-01-28. 
  7. ^ Strutt, Sam. "Why Andrew Laming is John Howard's problem child", The Courier-Mail, 10 March 2007, p. 55. 
    * Fraser, Andrew. "Rookie MP mired in rort investigation", Canberra Times, 7 March 2007, p. 5. 
  8. ^ McKenna, Michael. "Santoro adviser a lobbyist", The Australian, 16 March 2007, p. 2. Retrieved on 2008-01-28. 
  9. ^ Heywood, Lachlan. "Raid leader a Labor member", Courier-Mail, 8 March 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-04. 
  10. ^ Stafford, Annabel. "Queensland Lib calls for inquiry into police", The Age, 12 September 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-04. 
  11. ^ Williams, Paul D. (December 2007). "Political Chronicle - Queensland - January to June 2007". Australian Journal of Politics and History 53 (4): 634-639. 0004-9522. “But Liberals soon cried foul when it was revealed the raid was led by the estranged wife of senior minister Paul Lucas.” 
  12. ^ Heywood, Lachlan. "Print scandal abates as two MPs cleared", The Courier-Mail, 12 September 2007, p. 7. 
  13. ^ a b McKenna, Michael. "Lib MPs failed to respond to police", The Australian, 15 September 2007, p. 1. 
  14. ^ Fraser, Andrew. "Third MP clear in police inquiry", The Australian, 29 September 2007, p. 2. Retrieved on 2008-01-28. 
    * Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. "Media Release: Re Dr Laming MP", 28 September 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-28. 

[edit] External links

Parliament of Australia
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Con Sciacca		 Member for Bowman
2004 – present		 Incumbent
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