LABOR MP Don Brown has accused Bowman MP Andrew Laming in Parliament of resorting to developer donations to try to win his seat in the upcoming federal election.
It comes after Mr Brown asked the Electoral Commission of Queensland to investigate the use of a billboard at Thornlands by Mr Laming.
Mr Laming - who holds his seat by a handsome 7.1 per cent margin - hit back, saying Mr Brown's accusations were baseless.
Mr Laming said he was following the law and had a commercial arrangement to use the billboard.
"We've always used billboards in campaigns and ... in the case of a developer (owned billboard) I would always pay commercial rates because I am not stupid," Mr Laming said.
"We pay a daily rate of around $50 a day, we have a contract, invoice and all the paperwork and that's provided at the end of the campaign.
"It's a little unfair to ventilate false accusations if he (Mr Brown) can't substantiate it."
Earlier this month Mr Brown said in a letter to Queensland electoral commissioner Pat Vidgen that he believed a donation or gift had been made by property developer Harridan to the Liberal National Party and Mr Laming.
In Parliament, Mr Brown said Harridan was a big LNP donor.
"This stinks to high hell," he said. "I urge Andrew Laming and Harridan to co-operate with the ECQ.
"People do not have to take illegal developer donations to win this election. Let's have an even playing field and ensure that we do things by the law and not illegally."
Mr Brown tabled an extract from an ECQ report detailing gifts to the LNP which included three donations from Wade Mellish and one from Holmwood Highgate.
Harridan is the property development division of Holmwood Highgate Group. Mr Mellish is director of Harridan and Holmwood Highgate.
"We see there was $5000 in 2017, $2000 in 2017, another $3300 in 2016 and $2000 in 2016," Mr Brown told Parliament.
Mr Brown referred in Parliament to the High Court decision in April that upheld a ban on property developers making donations to political parties.
The court ruled against former LNP state president Gary Spence's lawyers who said the Queensland laws went too far because they could affect donations used in federal polls.
Mr Brown said it was ironic that the ECQ's first known investigation would be into Mr Laming who had been helped in his preselection by Mr Spence. Mr Brown referred to the sacking of three senior LNP branch members who spoke out against Mr Laming before preselection.
Mr Brown said earlier that he had asked Redland City Council whether the change in use of the billboard had been registered with council.
Mr Laming told the Bulletin this week that council had withdrawn a compliance notice relating to the billboard.
"After a review of all the considerations associated with the review request, including information supplied to council and the local laws governing signs, the billboard will be allowed to remain," Mr Laming said.
A council spokeswoman refused to comment.
Harridan also declined to comment.
