Analysis: Annastacia Palaszczuk has failed to deliver accountability

Despite a pledge to be more open and transparent than her predecessor, Annastacia Palaszczuk has been dogged by integrity scandals, writes Michael Madigan.

“I will run a very open and transparent government, something that Campbell Newman has failed to do.’’

That was Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in January 2015, a month before she unexpectedly won power after voters sent the one-term LNP government of Campbell Newman packing.

Ms Palaszczuk was defending a Labor fundraising event where attendees paid cash for a ticket.

She was insisting it was a legitimate fundraising event while simultaneously attacking the LNP for attempting to raise the threshold for declaring political donations from $1000 to $12,800.

“No one is more committed to good, honest government than me,’’ she declared on March 9 that same year, one month after winning power.

“Campbell Newman, Lawrence Springborg and the LNP went to extraordinary lengths to tear down Queensland’s integrity and accountability framework, and Queenslanders punished them for it,” the Premier added in a press release.

Integrity and accountability issues have hardly been absent from the Labor government over the past eight years.

But the Premier has displayed a tenacious ability to fight back when the honour of her government is brought into question.

Annastacia Palaszczuk with Campbell Newman

When a company partly owned by her one-time chief of staff David Barbagallo received a $267,500 state government grant to make an app to track people on cruise ships, the Premier was quick to warn against the presumption of guilt by the opposition as two investigations got under way.

“Those opposite may want to find people guilty before they’ve even had a trial,” she told parliament.

A Crime and Corruption Commission investigation found Mr Barbagallo did not use his position improperly but had failed to properly declare his interests while working for the Premier.

Ms Palaszczuk insisted she had not in any way misled Parliament about the situation.

“I really believe in my integrity and I will always tell parliament I believe to be honest,” she said.

When frontbencher Mark Bailey was stood aside after the CCC found he raised a “reasonable suspicion of corrupt conduct” in destroying work-related emails from his private account, [e-mail], the Premier stood him aside.

Bailey was cleared, but when the Premier was grilled about receiving an email from Bailey on her own private address, [e-mail], where the two discussed the political ideology of a potential director-general appointment, she declared she did not even remember having the email account.

“I don’t recall having a bigpond account, I may have, I would have to check,” she said.

In 2019 when it was revealed then deputy premier Jackie Trad had bought an investment house which had the potential to rise in value because of its proximity to the Brisbane Cross River Rail Project, the Premier said she did not know Ms Trad had bought a house.

Annastacia Palaszczuk with David Barbagallo

The Opposition raised the questions as to whether or not Ms Trad had breached the ministerial code of conduct by not revealing the property investment on the pecuniary interests register.

The CCC found no corrupt misconduct on Ms Trad’s behalf but announced protocol changes which the Premier accepted, removed Ms Trad from the rail project and declared she and her team would do better.

“I want to reassure Queenslanders here today that everyone on my team will absolutely double their efforts,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

The “we will do better” pledge was also used following an internal probe into allegations of serious cultural issues within the Education Department, following revelations staff engaged in misleading and deceitful conduct during the recruitment of a school principal.

Ms Trad was also alleged to have interfered in the appointment process of a principal at a Brisbane school.

The CCC cleared her but found senior executives had inflated enrolment figures for the school, labelling the action “arguably dishonest”.

An email to other department staff about the manufactured figures was also deliberately deleted, constituting the destruction of public record.

“I’m not happy and frankly it is a very serious issue when you have public servants who have misled the Premier and the minister of the day,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“It’s a good wake-up call for everyone.”

Annastacia Palaszczuk with Jackie Trad