And lo, the warring tribes in Queensland put aside their many razor sharp weapons made from the jawbones of unfortunate asses and formed the Liberal National Party , and are now involved in a good old fashioned , head chopping leadership donnybrook .
On a stack of Bibles, one of our Brisbane correspondents claims this parable is true . It seems that during a heated late night debate in the Queensland parliament in September last year , a member on the LNP called Education Minister Kate Jones "a nitwit".
That person was named as Tim Mander , a former Newman Government minister , Scripture Union head and a rugby league referee to boot .
However , he refused to withdraw the comment when told to do so by the Deputy Speaker, Mark Furner , and strongly stated he had not used the expression . In one memorable exchange, Mander was recorded as saying : "I will stand here and state on the Bible I did not say that word ."
He was backed in this denial by LNP mate Steve Dickson . However , when the matter was referred to the Parliamentary Ethics Committee, and after listening to the recording and reading Hansard , Mander admitted he had been wrong , apologised . This colourful event has led to frequent cries of will the Honourable Member for Everton, Mr Mander, swear this on a stack of Bibles when he makes statements in the House.
Now Mander is challenging Lawrence Springborg for leadership of the LNP and the intra tribal warfare, like a real State of Origin biffo , has once again surfaced with a vengeance. Jawbones have been honed , placed at the ready .
The former Deputy Leader of the LNP , Jeff Sweeney , who recently said he would leave Queensland politics and stand for a Federal seat, then had second thoughts, is being written up as a vengeful key player in "the plot" to unseat Springborg. And in what looks like a Tony Abbott scenario , Springborg is polling badly and complaints about the running of his office have been regurgitated , which sure sounds like Canberra before the final slip, slop, slap spill which produced a bloody scene , especially in Tony Abbott's inner sanctum .
The major blood letting in the LNP kicks off just as Malcolm Turnbull is trying to sell the image of Coalition forces throughout the nation as happy, God fearing folk who know the safe passage through the threatening Red Sea of debt .
NEXT: The Snake Gully family influence in Queensland politics.
NEXT: The Snake Gully family influence in Queensland politics.
