Editorial: Is transparency too much to ask?

Queenslanders have again been forced to fight for answers about the government’s cost management on major projects, writes the editor.

Premier Steven Miles (front) with Transport Minister Bart Mellish

Queenslanders have again been forced to fight for answers about the government’s cost management on major projects despite Premier Steven Miles pledging to promote transparency from his refreshed cabinet.

The latest increase to the problem-plagued Coomera Connector stage one was revealed last week – a staggering $864m.

Transport Minister Bart Mellish had repeatedly declined to be upfront with Queenslanders and reveal when he knew about the soaring cost and, critically, whether a March 4 press release trumpeting it as a $2.1bn project was accurate.

On Sunday he acknowledged through gritted teeth it was one of the projects facing significant cost pressures and revealed the cost increase was provided to him in January.

Mr Mellish’s refusal to detail this information when asked repeatedly last week indicates little has changed in the transport portfolio despite the departure of Mark Bailey.

Mr Bailey’s belief was that Queenslanders didn’t need to be told about a $2.4bn blowout on the government’s flagship train building program or a $3.1bn increase to the Gold Coast Faster Rail project.

These blowouts could fund a new Victoria Park stadium and go some way to upgrading the Gabba.

In politics often it isn’t the incident that gets you, it’s the cover-up.

But when it comes to transparency it appears the Miles government is in lock-step with the Palaszczuk government.

Today we also report Health Minister Shannon Fentiman has been accused of skewing ambulance data to distort comparisons about how long paramedics are waiting outside Queensland’s clogged hospitals.

Ms Fentiman has departed from the usual response provided about the total ambulance lost time and instead issued the average.

This minister pledged to be more transparent about data but is yet to demonstrate any real improvement from her predecessor.

While she promotes the increased availability of data, it remains largely meaningless if that data is not comparable to previous data sets.

A state election is 208 days away and the third-term Labor government is staring down the barrel of defeat.

Politicians on both sides are increasingly attempting to dodge questions about their track record or plans for Queensland.

Mr Miles and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli should brush up on Peter Coaldrake’s 2022 review of culture and accountability in the Queensland public sector.

It noted the importance of good governance from the top and the broad need to create a culture of transparency and accountability.

Almost two years after that review, Queenslanders are still being left in the dark.

Just last week Queensland’s outgoing Auditor-General Brendan Worrall said government agencies were able to decide – due to a lack of clear guidelines – how much detail to provide about the cash they are spending on capital programs.

He warned this could lead to inconsistencies and limited transparency over the use of taxpayer funds. We would argue it’s already happening.

MORE FEMALE TRADIES NEEDED

Australia has moved ahead in leaps and bounds in recent years when it comes to equality for women in the workplace, but in many ways we remain stuck in the dark ages.

On International Women’s Day last month, the sorry state of the gender pay gap in Australia was laid bare.

Now a study about women in trades makes for some more uncomfortable reading.

Despite the skills shortage, young women are often applying for more than 30 jobs before landing a tradie role, while some are taking to shortening their Christian names so they sound masculine.

Just 30.9 per cent of all apprentices and trainees across the nation are women. They make up only 1.6 per cent of all apprentice plumbers, 5.2 per cent of apprentice electricians and 2.5 per cent of apprentice bricklayers and carpenters collectively.

While the number of women in trades may always be lower than men because of societal gender roles, the fact that young women who want to have a go are meeting with barriers is a disgrace.

All this comes as the Master Builders Association predicts the construction industry alone needs to attract 90,000 tradies nationally in the next 90 days to meet the federal government’s target of building 1.2 million homes in the next five years.

Discrimination against women in the trades is bad for Australia, and it has to stop.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here