Editorial: Steven Miles’ big chance to make a difference

Premier Steven Miles has a window of opportunity to use his authority to draw a line under the Palaszczuk era once and for all, writes the editor.

Queensland’s Labor government came to life nearly a decade ago with an unequivocal commitment to transparency. Yet it never quite lived up to that noble ideal.

That was apparent even before the release midway through last year of Professor Peter Coaldrake’s 131-page report entitled “Let the Sunshine In’’.

That report – the commissioning of which came as a result of The Courier-Mail’s reporting on the so-called integrity crisis – still represents a worthy attempt to make the internal workings of government more transparent.

Yet it appears there is an ongoing hesitancy inside the ruling Labor Party about its professed commitment to accountability.

As revealed today, the state government now has legal advice on how Crime and Corruption Commission reports could be made public – and there are calls for the Miles government to act swiftly on it.

The CCC has been fighting to have reports from separate investigations into former public trustee Peter Carne and former deputy premier Jackie Trad released publicly through the Queensland parliament.

The High Court ruled last September that the watchdog’s report on its probe of Mr Carne, who was investigated for corruption in 2018 and cleared, could not be released publicly.

That High Court ruling effectively nullified powers that the watchdog had relied upon for more than two decades.

It also set a precedent which prompted the Queensland Supreme Court to dismiss a matter between the CCC and Ms Trad, who was fighting to stop the watchdog publishing a separate report on its investigation into her involvement in the recruitment process of a Treasury official.

New Premier Steven Miles wither former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: Liam Kidston

CCC chairman Bruce Barbour has called for “urgent legislative amendments’’ to allow the reports to be aired in the public space.

He has been highly critical of his inability to report to the public on such matters, saying it “reduces transparency and is clearly not in the public interest”.

The government does appear to be attempting to deal with what is, unquestionably, a complex legal matter.

The office of the Attorney-General, Yvette D’Ath, says the government is committed to “finding a path through what is a complex legal issue” and Ms D’Ath herself has met with Mr Barbour to try to find a resolution.

Yet the LNP opposition is, quite rightly, demanding an end to what it sees as ongoing government obfuscation on this issue.

Shadow attorney-general Tim Nicholls has introduced a Bill to the House to shore up the powers of the CCC and ensure its reports are more readily open to the public.

In Mr Nicholls’ view, his move is one that the government itself should have made immediately after the High Court’s finding.

He’s also taken direct aim at newly installed Premier Steven Miles, suggesting any reluctance to support the Bill would send a clear message to the public that the new Premier has the wrong priorities, and doesn’t truly believe in openness and transparency.

Beyond the blatant politics at play here, Mr Nicholls does have a valid point.

And that point is crystallised in Mr Nicholls’ accusation that any delay in resolving this issue will “be a clear signal Steven Miles is no different from Annastacia Palaszczuk’’.

Labor has had months to resolve this issue. But Mr Miles now has a window of opportunity to use his authority to draw a line under the Palaszczuk era and either support the LNP’s Bill or ensure Labor swiftly drafts one of its own.

He can send the electorate a powerful message that he is heading up a government that will truly let the sunshine in, and allow the public to know, in precise detail, exactly what the taxpayer-funded corruption watchdog is finding in its investigations.