Outgoing Brisbane MP Teresa Gambaro went against departmental advice when she selected a new electorate office that was considered too expensive, poorly positioned and had insufficient disability access and visitor parking, documents released under Freedom of Information legislation have revealed.
The documents also revealed Ms Gambaro's office was involved in direct negotiations with a Liberal National Party donor, the site's developer, to use taxpayer funds to rent out the property.
They also showed Ms Gambaro acted against a departmental recommendation to instead choose another identified property in the same suburb.
The revelation cast doubt on Ms Gambaro's earlier insistence the decision to move into the Newstead office was a matter for federal government bureaucrats.
A Fairfax Media investigation in January revealed the strong links between 5 Kyabra Street building and figures with ties to the LNP in Queensland.
Then, Ms Gambaro distanced herself from the selection of her new electorate office location, but the FOI documents reveal she was directly involved in the decision.
While Ms Gambaro's office suggested in January the selection of the office was out of the MP's hands, the documents showed Ms Gambaro negotiated directly with LNP fundraiser Stephen Pellegrino in August 2014 to lease the then-uncompleted building.
Three months later, on November 10, the Department of Finance provided Ms Gambaro with a further 11 options for her electorate office.
The Department of Finance also explicitly advised against the Kyabra Street property.
"We deem leasing and relocating into the member's preferred tenancy would not be practical, as the proposed commencement rent is about $100/m² above the high end of the current market's asking rent, the location of the building provides poor visibility of the premises and/or any signage, and the proposed fitout to be provided by the developer shows insufficient disability facility for access and/or travel between the internal levels, where M&PS (Ministerial and Parliamentary Services) would require further cash injection to upgrade and/or installation of adequate facility (sic)," the advice reads.
"From the properties submitted above for consideration, we recommend the premises at 9 Doggett Street, Newstead, be more suitable to meet CoA (Commonwealth of Australia) office requirements.
"As this premises provides a single floor plate, a disability ramp to the front door already provided, and the asking rent to the in the lower end of the market rental range, that includes the necessary car parking requirement.
"...However, there maybe (sic) some benefits to relocate to the member's preferred premises which we are not aware of."
In January, a spokesman for Ms Gambaro told Fairfax Media: "The department investigated a number of alternate options and, taking into account a number of factors including access for constituents and rent, 5 Kyabra Street was deemed to be the best option available."
Ms Gambaro rejected 9 Doggett Street, along with all other options, in an email dated November 19, 2014.
"Ms Gambaro has now had an opportunity to review all of the details of the properties listed in the document you attached and has determined that she wishes to proceed with the property located at Kyabra Street, Newstead," Ms Gambaro's chief-of-staff wrote in that email to the department.
That contradicted what Ms Gambaro's office told Fairfax Media in January, when her spokesman said the choice of the office was made by the Department of Finance (Ministerial and Parliamentary Services).
Nine of the options presented to Ms Gambaro were cheaper by at least $185.97 per square metres than the Kyabra Street office. The other two sites did not offer per square metre comparisons.
The lowest-priced option was $295.08 per square metre, which was less than half the then-quoted $614.44.
At the point Ms Gambaro originally championed Kyabra Street, it came at a cost of $110,600 a year, although that was subsequently renegotiated to $86,450 at $475 per square metre.
Ms Gambaro's office also stated that her first preference was to "move in to an existing electorate office in Albion", but there was no reference to that office in the FOI documents.
Comment was sought from Ms Gambaro prior to the publication of this story.
The strata-titled Kyabra Street building also boasted former Liberal Party heavyweight Santo Santoro as an owner, via Santoro Super Company Pty Ltd.
Ms Gambaro announced her retirement from politics in March and former National Retail Association chief executive Trevor Evans will contest Brisbane for the LNP in her stead.
Five candidates will join Mr Evans on the Brisbane ballot on July 2: Pat O'Neill (Labor), John Humphreys (Liberal Democrats), Bridget Clinch (Veterans' Party), Kirsten Lovejoy (Greens) and Mark Vegar (Family First).
