Queensland Labor MP for Rockhampton Barry O’Rourke reveals he uses the electoral roll to visit the homes of trolls who post negative comments about him on social media

A Labour MP has been charged with “violence” after admitting he misused the electoral roll to track down and visit people who had made negative comments about him online.

Barry O’Rourke, MP for Rockhampton, Queensland, told a local radio station on Monday that he did it as “a bit of karma” and said he was a “pretty big bloke”.

Mr O’Rourke said that while it might be “a bit silly” to visit these people, he did not like the idea of ​​”keyboard warriors” being able to make nasty comments about him anonymously.

“It happens quite often that people post these negative, nasty comments, and then I go on Facebook and try to find out who they are,” he said.

‘Then I check if they are on the electoral roll and if so… I love visiting them.

‘And you should see them, they turn into the calmest people and are so nice to you.’

But James Ashby, the One Nation candidate for the neighbouring constituency of Keppel, criticised O’Rourke’s behaviour, which he said he heard on the radio with “disbelief”.

“Here is a member of the Queensland Labor government who thinks it’s funny to access your private information from the electoral roll and then turn up at someone’s door and physically intimidate them because they said something on social media they didn’t like,” Ashby told Daily Mail Australia in a statement.

‘This must be referred to the Crime and Corruption Commission for a full investigation, and it must be condemned by the Prime Minister (Steven Miles) himself as unacceptable.

“If this form of violence by the Labor Party isn’t a crime, it should be.”

However, Mr O’Rourke showed no remorse when he spoke about his behaviour in the radio interview.

“I just kind of think about karma, I think it’s great, you know, it might be a little bit silly of me to do it sometimes. But like I said, I’m a pretty big guy,” he said.

When asked if he was trying to intimidate with his actions, he said there was never an excuse for abuse or harassment, either in real life or online.

“I am always open to the different points of view of the people I represent,” he said.

In a statement on social media on Tuesday, Mr O’Rourke confirmed that he is searching the voter rolls to see if certain people commenting on social media have fake accounts or are actually from his own region.

“When I see that they are real people, I make sure to include their homes in the house visits I have made regularly in the city over the past seven years,” he wrote.

‘I don’t treat them any differently than their neighbours, I don’t mention their behaviour on Facebook, I just introduce myself and have a chat.’

Mr O’Rourke said this gave the public the chance to discuss their concerns with him in person and he found that people who made rude comments about him online were “extremely polite and friendly” when they met him.

“I completely reject the idea that I ever used ‘intimidation tactics,’” he said.

According to the Electoral Act, a Member of Parliament may use the data on the electoral register for purposes relevant to the performance of his duties.

The MP added that the electoral register is a publicly accessible document.

‘In the past you looked up people in the telephone book and that is not much different now.

“I like to defend myself because I tried to have conversations offline instead of online,” he said.

Mr Miles supported his colleague and said he had rightly used the electoral roll.

“I go door to door and visit Queenslanders all the time. It’s an important part of my job,” the Premier said.

‘It is a completely justified use of the electoral register.

“I would encourage my MPs, when they receive positive or negative feedback, to reach out to those members of the community and talk to them.”

Mr O’Rourke (right) is pictured with former Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (centre) and Labor MP for Keppel, Brittany Lauga (left)

Mr Ashby, chief of staff to One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, said: “It is frightening to know that Mr O’Rourke is willing to abuse the Queensland electoral roll to intimidate people who say something he doesn’t like.

‘I am curious to see in what other ways the Labour Party uses the public’s personal data in the electoral rolls.’

Mr O’Rourke will step down at the October election.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr O’Rourke and Prime Minister Steven Miles for comment.