Queensland Building and Construction Commission insiders critical of Palaszczuk government review

Insiders are demanding a “please explain” over why a $120,000 review “glossed over” Mick de Brenni’s failure to provide a ministerial blueprint to the building watchdog.

High-level research commissioned for the Palaszczuk government’s review into the state’s building industry watchdog has highlighted Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni’s failure to provide strategic direction into the beleaguered QBCC.

But the key finding of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) research – which cost taxpayers more than $120,000 – was “glossed over” in former senior bureaucrat Jim Varghese’s report into his review of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission.

QBCC insiders are now calling for a “please explain” about why Mr de Brenni’s failure to ever provide a ministerial blueprint to the QBCC – revealed in the ANZSOG findings released yesterday – received “scant attention” in Dr Varghese’s report in June.

Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni. Picture: Dan Peled

While stressing it was not making recommendations, but rather “observations for further consideration in the review process”, ANZSOG noted a Ministerial Statement would have improved “the effectiveness” of the QBCC.

“Accountability is linked in practice with transparency: the OECD supports measures, already practised in many Australian jurisdictions, like Ministerial Statements of Expectation, the publication of annual reports and other reports to the executive and legislature, and the development of performance indicators”,’’ said the ANZSOG report.

Ministerial Statements of Expectations are issued to provide greater clarity on government policies and objectives relevant to the regulator, and the priorities the Minister “expects it to observe in conducting its operations”.

A QBCC insider said that while Dr Varghese had followed ANZSOG’s advice and recommended Mr de Brenni “develop a statement of expectations or similar”, he didn’t elaborate on why the Minister had failed to do so previously.

Jim Varghese.

“Dr Varghese’s 70-page report mentions the statement of expectations just five times,” the source said. “Queenslanders – especially those impacted by the watchdog’s dysfunction – need to know the full story, considering they paid for this research.

“The QBCC reports to the Minister, and in light of ANZSOG’s findings, there must be an explanation into what actually wasn’t said in Dr Varghese’s report”.

ANZSOG found that unlike the QBCC which had a one-page strategic plan, Victoria’s relevant Minister had specified three key strategic expectations and seven governance and service delivery improvements the agency was expected to undertake.

“A key question for QBCC, as for all regulators, is whether leaders in the agency are clear about their roles in developing and implementing a strategic approach to their regulatory mission,” ANZSOG noted.

The Palaszczuk Government has supported Dr Varghese’s recommendation and “will take steps to improve clarity and understanding about the regulatory role of the QBCC”.

Dr Varghese was appointed last November following a series of damning stories in The Courier-Mail highlighting allegations around conflicts of interest, a lack of transparency, and the QBCC’s poor decision-making and governance.

Originally published as Queensland Building and Construction Commission insiders critical of Palaszczuk government review