Scott Driscoll
| Scott Driscoll | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Queensland Parliament for Redcliffe | |
|
In office 24 March 2012 – 19 November 2013 |
|
| Preceded by | Lillian van Litsenburg |
| Succeeded by | Yvette D'Ath |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Scott Nicolaus Driscoll 16 April 1975 Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia |
| Political party |
Liberal National (2012–2013) Independent (2013) |
| Profession | Business, politics. |
Scott Nicolaus Driscoll (born 16 April 1975) is a former Australian businessman and Liberal politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from March 2012 until November 2013.
Driscoll was elected to the Legislative Assembly at the 2012 state election representing the Liberal National Party of Queensland. He won the seat of Redcliffe from the Labor incumbent Lillian van Litsenburg with a swing of 15.67%, turning the previously marginal seat into a safe LNP seat.
On 25 March 2013 he was suspended from the LNP following allegations of impropriety. After the LNP executive initiated proceedings to have him expelled from the party, Driscoll resigned from the party the following month and subsequently sat as an independent.
Driscoll was the subject of complaints of official misconduct referred to the Crime and Misconduct Commission in November 2012, followed by complaints of fraud to the Queensland Police. It was alleged that he secretly controlled the taxpayer-funded Moreton Bay Regional Community Association and had funnelled $2600 in consultancy fees each week to his wife. It was also claimed that he used his electorate office to continue his work with the Queensland Retail Traders and Shopkeepers Association, and that his wife had a contract with the retailers' body worth $350,000 a year. Although Premier Campbell Newman initially stood by Driscoll, he personally recommended that Driscoll be suspended after concluding his failure to provide a "fulsome and precise" explanation of the affair had become a distraction. His home was raided by the CMC in May 2013. Driscoll's wife was charged with fraud and perjury as a result of the investigation.
The allegations were referred to the Queensland Parliament Ethics Committee in June 2013. While the committee's deliberations were underway, Driscoll more or less ceased attending parliament; he showed up for only a few sessions to avoid having his seat automatically declared vacant. This, combined with other factors, prompted Newman to demand that the legislature take the unprecedented step of expelling Driscoll. Annastacia Palaszczuk, leader of the Labor opposition, criticised Newman for his initial resolute support of Driscoll.
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