In his two decades as a federal MP, Andrew Laming was no stranger to controversy.
Whether it be riling the nation’s teachers by saying they needed to work longer hours, ridiculing his critics in a local newspaper’s comment thread, or successfully obtaining an apology from Channel Nine, Laming has rarely been one to shrink from a confrontation.
In 2021, the Liberal National party (LNP) blocked Laming from recontesting the seat of Bowman after he apologised for comments he made about two women online. Laming later retracted the apology, saying the women weren’t “genuinely upset”.
He is now running for mayor of Redland city council, east of Brisbane, in a bid to reignite his political career.
The mayoral race has descended into acrimony, with locals saying the atmosphere two weeks out from polling day has become “unpleasant”. Police have been called at least twice in relation to disputes among candidates.
Documenting it all has been the Facebook page Redland City – Election News & Information – 2024, which was set up in January and has been running videos shot by Laming, as well as other posts about the election.
The page caught the attention of rival mayoral candidate Jos Mitchell, who approached Laming at a local market and accused him of being affiliated with the page – something Laming denies.
Guardian Australia approached the Facebook administrator and asked them to reveal their identity but they did not respond.
Laming is currently appealing against a 2023 court judgment that fined him $20,000 for not declaring his political links on Facebook posts prior to the 2019 federal election. A previous Guardian Australia investigation had found Laming operated more than 30 Facebook pages and profiles under the guise of community groups. Guardian Australia does not suggest he is affiliated with the Redland City – Election News page.
After being accused by Mitchell of being linked with the page, a video uploaded by Laming shows an exchange between the pair, with Mitchell holding up her hand and pushing his phone away as he films her.
On social media, Laming claimed to have been “assaulted”, something Mitchell strongly disputes.
“He pushed his phone towards my face. I automatically raised my hand to stop it,” Mitchell told Guardian Australia.
A Queensland police spokesperson said the video had been reviewed and both parties spoken to. “The incident is very minor in nature, with no force or injuries, so police will not be taking any further actions.”
Mitchell said she had been the subject of social media posts by Laming for more than a year, which had been “an unpleasant experience”.
“I find his attention and focus on me very concerning and I think it is time to call it out,” she said. “I believe there should be stronger controls in relation to candidate conduct.”
Guardian Australia asked Laming to respond to Mitchell’s comments and all of the other matters mentioned in this article and he said: “The topics aren’t part of my campaign.”
‘I fooled the doorpeople’
Less than a week after the incident at the market, police were called to a community meeting organised by Redlands 2030 and ACF Community Bayside, where Mitchell and other candidates were speaking.
Laming claimed online he was not invited to the event. But the president of Redlands2030, Steve MacDonald, said Redlanders – including all candidates – were issued an invitation on social media.
MacDonald said Laming did not reply until a few hours before the event, when he sent an email asking to attend “in an effort to restore some calm” given the market incident with Mitchell.
MacDonald advised Laming that the matter was not suitable for debate and that it was too late for him to attend as they had “a full house”.
“Despite this Mr Laming came … avoided our sign-in protocol and he entered the venue through a rear door,” MacDonald said. “He refused to leave when asked. We suspended the meeting and called police.”
Video posted by Laming online shows both he and the attendees filming each other. Guardian Australia understands members of the audience then chanted for Laming to leave.
Both Laming and Mitchell have also said police were called, although it is understood they did not intervene and Laming, who was at this stage seated, was allowed to remain. A spokesperson for Queensland police confirmed no action was taken in relation to the incident.
In a comment written by Laming on Facebook, he said: “I RSVPed and they tried to prevent me attending. I fooled the doorpeople and made my way to the back ... I just listened and took notes.”
In an unrelated video posted by Laming on Facebook, and shared by Redland City – Election News & Information – 2024, he films former LNP state MP Peter Dowling putting up a placard of Jos Mitchell on a fence.
As Dowling is shown driving off in his ute, Laming accuses him of erecting a placard on public property. Laming then tells him: “You’ve lost out of your own career and now you’re going to do everything you can.”
Dowling was dumped as the LNP candidate for the state seat of Redlands before the 2015 election after a woman claimed he texted her a photo of his penis in a glass of wine. Dowling apologised to his family, colleagues and staff at the time and said he was “not proud of the events” and that he “can’t and won’t defend any part of it”.
Guardian Australia contacted Dowling for comment. He declined to respond.
Conflict in ‘cut-throat election’
Meanwhile, the third mayoral candidate, Cindy Corrie, has attempted to position herself as a “no drama llama” and not involved in any conflict. Corrie and Laming have both preferenced each other in the number two spot.
Griffith University political scientist Dr Pandanus Petter said the amount of personal politics was rather unusual for a mayoral race.
“I would say mayoral candidates most of the time try to sort of show that they are rising above that kind of stuff,” he said.
“It’s not entirely unheard of … to criticise each other … but all throughout the Redlands it seems like there’s a lot of rancour that you don’t see as often in other places.”
Local resident Tim Allder said he couldn’t remember witnessing another mayoral race this toxic.
“This election is very cut-throat. There’s a lot of stuff being said about other candidates … I always think there’s two sides to every story that you read,” Allder told Guardian Australia.
Local businessman Tim Whittle described the political atmosphere as “unpleasant”. He said he backed Laming.
“He has a very strong track record of being visible. He’s been around for a long time and is very experienced at being in contact with all levels of government,” he said.
Wendy Boglary, a councillor and member of Mitchell’s team of candidates, said Redlands elections “are always a horrid time”.
“I would encourage the community to research names and read about people for themselves,” she said.
Fellow councillor Paul Bishop said he had heard from people who felt “embarrassed, offended and shocked” by some of the things that they were seeing before the council election.
“Anything that promotes division or further division, without focusing on the issues that the city is facing … is not just not helping,” he said.
For Nicola Delamere of Russell Island, the campaign is more reminiscent of “the way American politics works – it’s not how Australian politics works”.
Delamere said she and others on the island felt ignored by the council. “I’m struggling to find any candidate who is focused on the island issues … My street is still dirt. I haven’t got a main road.”
