Deputy LNP leader Tim Mander has responded to criticism that he "bullied" a gambling executive after she liked a tweet from a Labor minister which used one of Mr Mander's children to attack him.
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Mr Mander labelled the "bullying" accusation from other Twitter users as "total nonsense" and said he called out the gambling executive because his "paternal protective instincts" kicked in.
Mr Mander responded to Ms Jones' tweet at the time by saying: "This is typical of the grubby tactics used by the Labor party. Imagine the outrage if I mentioned @katejonesqld children in parliament."
The deputy opposition leader then turned his attention to Ms Ross by asking whether her employer also supported Ms Jones' actions.
"@moo0000 I noticed you liked a political tweet from Labor. Would you clarify whether that is the official position of @Tabcorp?" Mr Mander posted to the social media platform.
Ms Ross responded: "As a Queenslander and technologist I’m 100% supportive of @AdvanceQld and any programs that support innovation and the advancement of Qld - this isn’t a political view."
Mr Mander responded again with: "It is when you ‘like’ a grubby attack on an MP’s child. Cheap, petty politics. I suggest you don’t comment when you don’t know the context."
During the next two days, Mr Mander was flooded with replies accusing him of "bullying" Ms Ross, but said on Sunday that those allegations were "total nonsense".
“I get very sensitive when my children are used as political pawns, which they were in the parliament this week, and so my paternal protective instincts come out," Mr Mander said.
"Ninety-nine per cent of people on Twitter who respond to these things are Labor party trolls and they really don’t interest me.
"This person on their Twitter descriptor was the executive of a public company and I thought it would be pretty unwise to be making political statements.
"There is nothing inappropriate about asking a person’s position on whether it’s a personal point of view or their organisation’s.
"They tagged themselves as an executive of a public company and there are responsibilities attached to that. That’s what I asked."
Fairfax Media contacted Ms Ross for further comment, but she declined. She does have a disclaimer on her Twitter profile saying it contains her own views, not professional positions.
In a statement, Ms Jones defended her tweet and Ms Ross.
"Advance Qld is about creating jobs in the new economy for all our children and our grandchildren," she said.
"No one thinks it is OK to bully people on Twitter for expressing their view.
"It was already on the public record that Zach Mander and his group Collective Noun had won a grant from the government.
"The public deserves to know how the government is spending taxpayer funds."
