Campbell Newman delays Barry O'Sullivan's endorsement as Queensland senator pending outcome of CMC probe WAITING GAME: The LNP's Barry O'Sullivan - and Queensland - remain in limbo after Campbell Newman again delayed his endorsement as a senator, this time until early next year. Pic: Jack Tran Source: News Limited QUEENSLAND will be a senator down until February after Premier Campbell Newman again delayed senator-elect Barry O'Sullivan's parliamentary endorsement. Premier Campbell Newman today maintained he supported Mr O'Sullivan's nomination to replace former senator Barnaby Joyce, who moved to the Lower House, but believed the Queensland public would not accept his appointment until he was cleared by the Crime and Misconduct Commission. Newman delays O'Sullivan's endorsement LNP plotting revealed in Flegg secret tapes Mr O'Sullivan's appointment was to be affirmed by State Parliament today, but has again been delayed while the CMC completes its investigation into allegations Moggill MP Bruce Flegg was offered an inducement by party officials in 2011 to retire so he could be replaced by Mr Newman. The CMC reopened the investigation earlier this year after The Courier-Mail revealed covert recordings taken by Dr Flegg during the ill-fated negotiations over his retirement included conversations about him taking a lucrative trade commissioner's position. "What we will do next week is we will further adjourn the matter to the first sitting of Parliament in 2014," Mr Newman said today. That should give them (the CMC) enough time to complete their investigations and, I certainly hope, to give Mr O'Sullivan a clean bill of health so he can take his place in the Senate. Mr Newman acknowledged reports the federal Senate Clerk had said there was no reason why Mr O'Sullivan could not join the senate now but said he disagreed. He said the Clerk of the Queensland Parliament also disagreed. His position is that we, as the Parliament, are essentially taking the role of the people of Queensland, and I don't think the people of Queensland would be very happy with the Parliament if it simply proceeded with this matter before the whole matter of Mr O'Sullivan was resolved. Opposition Treasury spokesman Curtis Pitt said the decision would leave the state without full representation. "If there is that sort of a cloud over the individual concerned and they haven't been able to, in their own heart of hearts, see that he has got no case to answer, then they need to either make the decision to put him in now or find someone else who isn't currently before the CMC," Mr Pitt said. It is important that we have a representative in the Federal Senate from Queensland, and the fact that the LNP have got a position vacant should be very worrying to people.