Embattled Queensland LNP president David Hutchinson has resigned as a consultant for rival politician Clive Palmer, as senior party figures call for him to step down as their leader as well.
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Clive Palmer says Mr Hutchinson resigned on Wednesday to concentrate on his voluntary role as president of the Liberal National Party.
But Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says his position as president remains untenable and he must resign over his role in destabilising parliamentary leader Deb Frecklington.
Damning polling on Ms Frecklington's popularity was recently leaked from LNP headquarters, throwing her leadership into question just months out from an election.
The finger was pointed at Mr Hutchinson and the so-called "backroom boys" of the party.
The minister described Mr Hutchinson as an "incredibly decent person" but said he needed to step down.
"The branch members are outraged that the president of the day would be involved in a campaign to destabilise the state leader," Mr Dutton told 2GB radio on Thursday.
"He needs to resign now from the position of party president and he needs to do it sooner than later."
Mr Dutton later told reporters he had privately asked Mr Hutchinson to resign three times before calling for him to do so publicly.
"Deb Frecklington stood up to the bully boys in the backroom of the LNP and she should be given credit for that," he said.
Mr Hutchinson is not compelled to act on calls from state MPs to step down but as the party's most senior Queensland politician, Mr Dutton's voice carries more weight in the president's tenure.
After Ms Frecklington spent the weekend fighting off leadership rumblings, Broadwater MP David Crisafulli, long touted as the potential future leader of the party, ruled out challenging her.
Since January, members of the LNP's parliamentary team have expressed concern over Mr Hutchinson's dual roles.
Mr Crisafulli, Ray Stevens, Fiona Simpson, Ros Bates, David Janetzki, Andrew Powell, Dan Purdie and Jarrod Bleijie publicly backed Ms Frecklington on Monday.
Some had called for Mr Hutchinson to choose between his job with Mr Palmer and his volunteer role as president, saying they weren't compatible.
Ms Frecklington told AAP in a statement that she would not be distracted by the matter and was getting on with her job.
In the weeks before last year's federal election, Mr Hutchinson, then acting LNP president, struck an in-principle deal with Mr Palmer to put him second on the party's how-to-vote cards.
Australian Associated Press