The Liberal National Party's candidate for the crucial Longman byelection, Trevor Ruthenberg, has admitted his Queensland parliamentary biography incorrectly claimed he had been awarded the Australian Service Medal.
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The medal is awarded for military and other service in peacekeeping operations by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Chief of the Defence Force.
Mr Ruthenberg, a former serving corporal in the Royal Australian Air Force, where he trained as an aeronautical ground engineer, told News Corp on Tuesday that if he "screwed up", he apologised.
“It was certainly not intentional and I respect the uniform way too much to claim I earned something I didn’t," Mr Ruthenberg said.
The Defence Act 1903 states that a person who “falsely represents himself or herself” as having been awarded a service decoration may face up to six months' jail.
His biography on the Queensland Parliament website was updated on Tuesday to state he had received the Australian Defence Medal, not the Australian Service Medal.
In May, West Australian MP Barry Urban resigned after a committee recommended he be expelled for lying about his past, including a claim that he had been awarded a British military service medal.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull defended Mr Ruthenberg as making “an honest mistake”.
“He’s very embarrassed about it and he’s apologised profusely,” Mr Turnbull said on Tuesday morning.
“He had a service medal, an Australian Defence Medal, and there’s another medal called the [Australian Service Medal] … and he misdescribed the medal he had been awarded.
"Big Trev is as honest and straight as he is big.”
Speaking in Brisbane on Tuesday morning, Mr Ruthenberg said he “took steps to correct the mistake” when it was brought to his attention on Monday.
He also apologised to Mr Turnbull.
“I apologise to the Prime Minister, this is not the kind of front-page news the Prime Minister wants to see,” Mr Ruthenberg said.
“I unreservedly apologise to the Defence community.
“I tell cadets when you make a mistake you put your hand up and you own the mistake.
“I’ve never worn the Australian Service Medal, I’ve never claimed I’ve been eligible for the medal.”
Elected to the Queensland Parliament in 2012 for a term in the Campbell Newman government, Mr Ruthenberg represented Kallangur from 2012 to 2015.
He was selected by the LNP in May to contest the marginal seat of Longman against sitting Labor MP Susan Lamb, who had quit the Parliament over the dual citizenship saga.
Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne, speaking from Devonport in Tasmania, said Mr Ruthenberg had admitted the mistake and "people have moved on".
"I think the voters of Longman are probably much more concerned that their former member Susan Lamb sat in the Parliament from 2016 to 2017 knowing that she was a citizen of Great Britain and Australia and didn't do anything about it," Mr Pyne said.
"In the integrity stakes, I think the voters of Longman know Susan Lamb has a lot of explaining to do."
RSL Queensland president Tony Ferris said “Trevor Ruthenberg seems to have made a mistake and he’s admitted it.”
Fairfax Media has contacted Mr Ruthenberg and Ms Lamb for comment.
