Queensland public servants have come to fear providing frank and fearless advice to government because of the “high price” paid by some who did so, according to Professor Peter Coaldrake’s landmark review of the state public service.

“There is a view, repeatedly confirmed, that public service advice is too often shaped to suit what are assumed to be the preconceptions of the people receiving it; that the price for frank and fearless advice can be too high, sometimes devastatingly so, and the rewards too low,” Professor Coaldrake said.