Opinion: Only the antiseptic of public disclosure can clean out this government
The man tasked with dealing with state government misconduct claims can talk about accountability all he wants, but his mission will be a flop if he doesn’t show a willingness to dig some dirt and call a royal commission, writes Des Houghton.
Opinion
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I suspect Peter Coaldrake will be made to look like a Labor Party patsy if his final report into misconduct in the state government fails to recommend a royal commission.
Coaldrake can talk high and mightily about accountability and ethical behaviour until he is blue in the face, but his mission will be a flop if he doesn’t show a willingness to help dig some dirt. He has been asked to review failures of “culture and accountability” in the Palaszczuk government.
It is a brief that says so little and so much. Coaldrake is a former university vice-chancellor with historical connections to the Labor Party. He was handpicked by premier Wayne Goss in 1989 to work alongside Kevin Rudd reforming the public service in the post-Bjelke-Petersen era.
Coaldrake served for four years as chief of Queensland’s Public Sector Management Commission, created by Goss to have public servants promoted not on seniority but on merit. The commission also put more power into the hands of Labor’s newly minted government ministers to promote Labor’s left-wing social agenda. This time around, Coaldrake’s terms of reference restrict him probing individual cases, so it may be doomed from the start.
Perhaps this is the way the Premier’s minders and the public service chiefs planned it all along. However, I find it difficult to see how Coaldrake can faithfully carry out his duties without looking at some cases where there has been an obvious failure of “culture and accountability” that has led to impropriety and possible criminal wrongdoing.
How can Coaldrake possibly recommend changes to a system without finding out who broke it and why?
Unethical behaviour or corruption, as it has been described recently in the Queensland parliament, is all about individual cases, isn’t it?
Ousted state archivist Mike Summerell accused the “toxic” Palaszczuk government of misleading parliament by falsifying his annual reports to hide “bad news”.
More details, please, Mr Coaldrake.
Summerell said government figures had been assigned to a “black ops dirt unit” to besmirch his reputation. Were taxpayer-funded spin doctors engaged in this campaign at the behest of their political masters?
I hope Coaldrake has the moral courage to ask the difficult questions of people behind the scenes.
That said, he has no coercive powers, so public service chiefs are under no compulsion to tell him anything. This is precisely why we need a Royal Commission.
Integrity Commissioner Nikola 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.
Why? This goes to the heart of “culture and accountability” does it not?
More details please, Mr Coaldrake. And if you are unable to explain this bizarre behaviour, refer it to someone who can; someone like a retired judge with all the powers of a royal commission who can call witnesses and interrogate them.
What was on the laptop? More information, please Mr Coaldrake.
Coaldrake’s report on “culture and accountability” will also be a hollow one if it fails to at least acknowledge the state government’s cosy links with unions described in state and federal parliaments as corrupt.
One person who could potentially shed light on the dishonourable conduct of Cabinet ministers and their keepers is former press secretary Neil Doorley. He met Coaldrake last week. He declined to tell me what they discussed but he did make available a copy of the report he handed Coaldrake.
It was damning with allegations of intimidation and bullying and other possible criminal behaviour.
Doorley has kept copious records and pledged to “name names” but can do so only at an independent inquiry where he has protection. Other spin doctors and ministerial staffers will come forward to give evidence of wrongdoing if they have the protection of a royal commission. Doorley did Queensland a great service by speaking out. And he was not alone in calling out alleged integrity failures by key government figures.
Former legal services commissioner Bob Brittan called for a far-reaching inquiry into the state government’s integrity saying he was “bewildered” that ethical issues he raised on the job were ignored.
A prisoner of her own left-wing ideology, Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman failed to properly respond to Brittan’s serious charges that ethical issues are swept under the carpet.
Auditor-General Brendan Worrall advocated law changes to bolster his independence amid concerns the state government holds too much power over his office. By now, Coaldrake must have a laundry list of similar transgressions. They need the antiseptic of public disclosure that only a royal commission can bring.
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
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