2nd September 1998, Peter Morley, state political editor:
Labor MP Bill D'Arcy's heart condition partially influenced Premier Peter Beattie's call for him to resign after reports that police were expected to charge the backbencher with child-sex offences.
Mr Beattie's concern about Mr D'Arcy's welfare led to claims last night by Opposition Leader Rob Borbidge that Queenslanders should question the Premier's credibility.
Mr Beattie revealed earlier yesterday that he had raised Mr D'Arcy's condition when the two met on Sunday when the Premier suggested he resign in the interests of himself, his family and the Government.
"I have been aware for some time that Mr D'Arcy has in fact had a heart condition, which is one of the reasons why I felt on Sunday when I raised this issue with him that these were one of the matters that he would need to take into account when he considered what his future was," Mr Beattie said.
It was the first time the Premier has identified Mr D'Arcy as the person expected to be charged by police over (child sex) allegations that the backbencher has strenuously denied.
Mr Beattie also referred to "Bill and his family" and discussions he had with "Bill" before telling journalists that he withdrew the references he should not have made.
Before the press conference concluded, the Premier again said: "I stress to you that I withdraw the references to his name that I mentioned earlier. I had no intention of doing that."
Later, the Premier's Department contacted journalists to get a "feel" for how they would report the matter.
Media outlets, including The Courier-Mail, have been criticised by the Premier for identifying Mr D'Arcy, ignoring presumption of innocence and "disgraceful" reporting.
Within the next fortnight police expect to conclude their investigations into allegations against Mr D'Arcy.
Mr Beattie repeated that he wanted the matter resolved as soon as possible so that his Government could get on with its job.
Mr Borbidge said the Labor administration represented an "accident scene" because of the Premier's credibility.
"On Sunday, Mr Beattie told everybody it was partly because of the family that he felt the MP should resign his seat," Mr Borbidge said. "This was rejected by the MP's solicitor, who said the family wanted the MP to stay on and fight on.
"But now, apparently, the MP has fairly quickly developed a heart ailment which means he should not keep sitting in Parliament. Where was the heart ailment at the time of the last election?"