MP in heated forum fight
TOOWOOMBA’S federal member has stormed out of a candidate meet-and-greet, after he became engaged in a heated exchange with constituents.
Groom MP Garth Hamilton was filmed walking out a forum at Westbrook on Thursday night, after spending several minutes verbally sparring with members of Toowoomba’s anti-mandate movement.
Several witnesses and other candidates confirmed the exchange featured “raised voices” and escalating aggression, before Mr Hamilton declared he’d “had enough of this” and walked out.
The video also features a woman, reportedly one of the protesters, shouting “he called me a liar” as Mr Hamilton walked out the door.
The MP was approached by The Chronicle but declined to comment.
Forum organiser Matt Norton said he witnessed the exchange, but not the conversation that sparked it.
“He had a heated discussion with a constituent — she was there to ask some hard questions,” he said.
“I wasn’t aware of the details of conversations but they both raised their voices, and Garth said he’d had enough and he left.”
Mr Hamilton’s Labor opponent Gen Allpass said she had spoken to the same people prior to the incident, with a very different result.
“The same people approached me at the start of the night, and I spoke to them about their concerns,” she said.
“One of the constituents was quite aggressive at the start, but it was just a matter of he just wanted to be heard.
“People are not always going to agree, so it’s your ability to adapt to different situations and scenarios.”
Independent candidate Suzie Holt, who is hoping to secure disaffected Liberal voters from Mr Hamilton on May 21, was scathing in her assessment of the matter.
“I am used to anger from constituents opposed to vaccinations and the mandates,” she said.
“It is extraordinary to me that our federal representative is unable to cope with animated disagreement with constituents across Groom and that all other candidates were able to handle such conversations without incident.”
Mr Norton noted the forum was otherwise a success, drawing 50 people to the Westbrook Hall for brief speeches in an informal setting.