Des Houghton: The Coaldrake Review was a waste of time and money

The Coaldrake Report into the toxic culture inside the Palaszczuk Government tells us very little we don’t already know, offers only Band-Aid recommendations and leaves too many questions unanswered, writes Des Houghton.

Was the Coaldrake review into the toxic Palaszczuk government a waste of time and money?

It certainly looks that way to me.

The report, released this week, told us very little that we didn’t already know.

And its failure to recommend a formal commission of inquiry into government wrongdoing means Queenslanders have been robbed of an opportunity to find out what really happened behind the scenes in Palaszczuk’s Tower of Power.

The Premier made it worse by refusing to take any responsibility for the culture under her leadership.

This may be her ultimate undoing. Her government is in remission and there are signs it will all end badly.

Like many Queenslanders, I simply don’t trust her anymore. Deputy Opposition leader Jarrod Bleijie was on the money when he said Palaszczuk was remiss for offering no apology for the bullying and intimidation suffered by public servants.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Professor Peter Coaldrake.

“The only person who isn’t troubled by this scathing review is Annastacia Palaszczuk,” he said.

“This is a toxic state government that will not learn any lessons.

“Nothing in Queensland will change under Annastacia Palaszczuk.’’

The report offered only obvious Band-Aid recommendations that will help cover over misdeeds of the past.

And its recommendations will have to be implemented by some of the very ministerial advisers and senior public servants found to be disreputable.

I’m suspicious, too, about the grandiose unveiling of a plan to release Cabinet documents early.

The Premier carried on as though she was doing us a big favour by releasing information we are entitled to anyway.

I have no doubt any contentious matters will be smoothed over before they go to Cabinet so there will be little to see in the documents anyway.

The report’s recommendation to boost the independence of integrity bodies has merit but comes too late for ousted archivist Mike Summerell and former Integrity Commissioner Nikola Stepanov.

Both were treated appallingly and punished unreasonably for simply doing their jobs. They are the ones most deserving of an apology.

The report did not offer commentary on Summerell’s claims the “toxic” Palaszczuk government misled parliament by falsifying his annual reports to hide “bad news”.

Nor did he delve into the “black ops dirt unit” within the government that tried to besmirch Summerell’s reputation.

This is precisely why we need a royal commission.

The lack of commentary from the report about the Stepanov case is likewise perplexing.

Parliament heard Stepanov had her staff slashed to one person who had no legal training while she was investigating alleged illegal lobbying.

Her computer system was so old it lacked the capacity to update files relating to lobbying.

Stepanov’s laptop was seized from her office and the contents “deleted without my knowledge or consent”, she told a parliamentary hearing.

Coaldrake may have presented his worthy report, but in my opinion, we are no closer to the truth.

Too many questions remain unanswered.

Des Houghton is a media consultant and a former editor of The Courier-Mail, the Sunday Mail, The Sunday Sun and The Gold Coast Sun.