The Queensland government has backflipped on a change to the state’s electoral laws that would ban journalists from reporting on political corruption.

The proposed bill would have made it an imprisonable offence to publicise complaints made to the Crime and Corruption Commission against candidates during an election period.

Nine News political reporter Lane Calcutt told Scott Emerson “it is basically dead, buried and cremated”, and he’s reasonably certain the bill won’t return after the election.

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Scott was scathing in his criticism of the proposal.

“I think that this is one of the worst pieces of legislation I’ve ever seen.

“What really concerns me about it was … the fact it was clearly skewed to help [sitting] MPs.

“This a thuggish attack on the free press, in my opinion, an abuse of power, and an attack on democracy.”

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Image: Getty