A social media post has emerged showing disgraced Nationals MP Andrew Broad was confronted with claims about use of “sugar daddy” dating sites nearly a year ago.
Key points:
- The Nationals MP has not denied the authenticity of the social media post
- This week he quit the ministry and announced he will retire at the election
- Nationals leader Michael McCormack has been forced to defend his handling of the scandal
Mr Broad, a married man, this week resigned from the ministry after it emerged he had used a dating app to meet a younger woman while on a trip to Hong Kong earlier this year.
But the new post suggests Mr Broad might have been linked to at least one other woman on the site.
The post on Mr Broad’s Facebook page alleged Mr Broad had been using dating sites earlier than the August incident.
“Going to the papers this coming week in regards to you chatting to my friend from a sugar daddy website,” the post reads.
“The IP address and also Seeking Arrangement (sic) has confirmed everything.
“So your (sic) in trouble! Your wife is being told about all this also.”
It appears that post has sat on Mr Broad’s Facebook profile for at least 49 weeks.
The ABC contacted Mr Broad about the post and via text message he did not deny its authenticity.
“My priority is my family. I am leaving public life,” Mr Broad said.
He said media had hounded his family in recent days but did not comment on the post.
The ABC attempted to contact the person who posted the allegations on Facebook.
Mr Broad announced 24 hours after the scandal emerged in New Idea magazine that he would not contest the next federal election.
Threats of defamation action
The new allegations emerged as Nationals leader Michael McCormack indicated that Mr Broad could sue New Idea magazine over its article about his personal life.
“I don’t know what had taken place, whether Mr Broad’s lawyers had contacted New Idea, that was a suggestion made to me, as to the fact that it was under investigation and this perhaps could have been a defamation matter,” he told Sky News.
Mr McCormack has been forced to defend his handling of the matter, including not telling Prime Minister Scott Morrison until the magazine released its story.
After initially saying Mr Broad told him about the matter “a couple of weeks ago”, Mr McCormack had to issue a statement to confirm he learned about the matter on November 8.
Mr Broad, on advice from Mr McCormack, contacted the Australian Federal Police about the matter but it this week confirmed no offences had been committed.
