Qld ministers Tim Mander and Amanda Camm duck questions about integrity advice on early relationship
Two Queensland ministers facing questions about a rekindled romance have refused to reveal whether they spoke to the state’s integrity watchdog about the relationship’s earlier iteration when first sworn into their roles in late 2024.
Sports Minister Tim Mander has also insisted that neither he nor cabinet colleague Amanda Camm, the minister for families, seniors, and disability services, had any role in decisions for projects in each other’s electorates, and were not romantically involved during their first months in power.
The relationship has been thrust into public debate in recent weeks amid reporting on Mander’s living arrangements and concerns raised by his former sister-in-law, aired since the pair disclosed a joint property purchase to cabinet colleagues.
Both Mander and Camm have largely avoided media conferences in Brisbane since, but they separately addressed reporters in Brisbane late on Wednesday after more reports of funding for projects in each of their electorates.
Labor’s shadow treasurer, Shannon Fentiman, held her own media conference earlier in the day to call on the pair to share Integrity Commissioner advice about their relationship, as Camm had done for an unrelated matter in 2021.
Premier David Crisafulli has this week defended the actions of the pair, who had “conducted themselves the way they should”. If anyone believed otherwise, he said they should refer things to the appropriate authorities.
Under the Ministerial Code of Conduct to which cabinet figures are held accountable, ministers themselves are responsible for identifying and managing conflicts of interest, with the advice of the commissioner.
This is required within one month of being sworn into office, and any time there is a change in circumstances. Mander told reporters on Wednesday that he met with the commissioner after starting as minister.
“She [Integrity Commissioner Linda Waugh] asked a series of questions to remind us of our responsibilities in the Ministerial Code of Conduct, and there was nothing for me to declare,” Mander said.
Both he and Camm said on Sunday they were in a relationship from June 2023 to May 2024, and “reconnected” in June 2025 after Mander separated from his wife in April that year, at which point the pair made appropriate disclosures.
Pressed on whether he thought the then-dormant relationship carried the potential or perception to be considered a conflict of interest at the time of his initial talks with Waugh in November 2024, and if he sought such advice, Mander refused to say.
“I’m going to go back, again, to my conversation in my first meeting with the Integrity Commissioner. I spoke about a whole range of matters, and her conclusion was there was no conflict of interest,” he said.
Mander said he would not release written advice from the commissioner, as it may contain confidential and unrelated matters.
The most relevant point, he said, was the conflict of interest management plan signed off by himself and Crisafulli on July 14, which detailed how the restarted relationship would be managed.
This document, shown to the media, concedes that in his role as a minister and cabinet member, Mander could be perceived to be acting in ways that benefited Camm.
To address this, he is required to advise Crisafulli and seek advice from Waugh regarding any further progression of their relationship, any matter that might materially impact Camm, or any relevant matters arising in cabinet.
Mander is also required to avoid being a member of the same cabinet committees as Camm.
Regarding almost $1 million in funding for community sports projects in Camm’s Whitsunday electorate – contained in last year’s budget – Mander said these were LNP election promises he had no role in approving.
Nor did he discuss with Camm the movement of 2032 Olympic sailing to the Whitsundays, Mander said.
“Have I done anything wrong? I’ve done some things wrong by my family, which I regret, and I don’t want to cause them any further hurt,” he said.
“But with regards to my obligations as a minister, I’ve done everything according to the Ministerial Code of Conduct, and have ensured that I’ve followed that every step of the way.”
Camm, speaking less than an hour after Mander on the other side of Brisbane’s CBD, also denied discussing electorate announcements with Mander, whose seat of Everton saw $3.1 million in funds from Camm’s department for the Dickson Men’s Shed.
She reflected on the personal distress caused to both her and Mander’s family and friends, apologising for any hurt caused.
Camm confirmed that she too had a conflict of interest management plan in place, and she also refused to say if she spoke with Waugh about the earlier iteration of the relationship at the time of her swearing in as minister.
Asked why Queenslanders should believe the timeline the couple had provided, she said: “Because it’s the truth.”
At a media conference of his own earlier on Wednesday, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie called on former Labor government ministers Mark Bailey and Meaghan Scanlon to also release integrity advice about their since-ended relationship.
Bleijie also suggested former treasurer Cameron Dick should disclose advice around “his wife and the money she made … when she was employed by the state to do legal work”.
“If the Labor Party want to go there, then parliament sits next week and bring it on,” he said.
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Matt Dennien is a reporter at Brisbane Times covering state politics, parliament and the public sector. He has previously worked for newspapers in Tasmania and Brisbane community radio station 4ZZZ. Contact him securely on Signal @mattdennien.15Connect via email.
