Emails reveal chaos over Mick de Brenni’s delays to new website

A state minister has been accused of being behind a “petty powerplay” after being given nearly two weeks to sign-off on the building watchdog’s new website.

Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni pulled the plug on the building watchdog’s new “user-friendly” website, just three days before its long-awaited official launch, according to emails uncovered by the LNP.

The documents come after the minister told parliament in April that the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) launched its $114,000 website “without seeking approval from my office”.

Mr de Brenni, who has repeatedly denied in parliament that he or his office has involvement in (QBCC) operational matters, blamed the four-month launch delay on holidays and Covid-19

interruptions, not just “walk-throughs with stakeholders”.

Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni. Picture: NewsWire/Sarah Marshall

However, the new emails – included in a 400-page RTI response to LNP backbencher Michael Hart – reveal direct involvement by Mr De Brenni in the launch of the new website being postponed.

Mr Hart said the emails were the “smoking gun” exposing not only the QBCC being forced to wait for ministerial approval but top-level frustration with the minister’s office over what should have been relatively routine operational matters.

“The evidence continues to mount for why the Premier should flick Mick, who is clearly out of his depth,” Mr Hart said.

The emails reveal senior QBCC staff seeking “urgent” feedback from the minister’s office ahead of the planned launch of the new website – which had already been approved by the watchdog’s own board – on Monday, December 13 last year.

In documents sent to the minister’s office, the QBCC explained there was a “very low risk” of major technical issues arising with the new website, and there had been extensive consultation around the timing of the looming deadline.

LNP backbencher Michael Hart. Picture: Glenn Hampson

But after waiting weeks for ministerial approval, the QBCC’s principal project officer Fiona Cameron was forced to issue an alert headed “Delay to New website launch” – less than 72 hours before the deadline – on Friday, December 10.

Ms Cameron told QBCC staff: “I just want to keep you in the loop that we are now having to delay launch of the new website.

“Our minister wants to be given a full walk-through before we launch so he can respond to any inquiries about it. This will happen on the 20th December.”

The minister’s intervention couldn’t have come at a worse time, ahead of the Christmas-New Year break when staff wouldn’t be able to work on the project because they were on leave.

The new website was finally launched in April – the same time the QBCC announced a glitzy new $1.5m PR campaign to counter negative publicity around the watchdog.

Frustrated insiders said the minister ultimately delayed the launch “because he couldn’t find an hour or so in his schedule to do a walk-through with project officers before the December 13 deadline”.

Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni in parliament. Picture: NewsWire/Sarah Marshall

“Given the minister had nearly two weeks to sign-off on this project, and the QBCC had also reached out to the minister’s senior staff to highlight the importance of him doing just that, the whole episode reeked of being a petty powerplay,” the source said.

“The delay caused by the minister also meant Queenslanders were slugged possibly thousands of dollars extra for the QBCC to host and maintain not only the old website, but the new one as well until it went live.”

Other emails show Mr de Brenni’s office were sent documents on December 2 highlighting the importance of the project being approved be “pushed through as a priority”, and the reasons behind the commission’s desire to implement a “more user friendly and accessible website”.

The documents reveal a “website Refresh Project” was initiated in 2020 with the “current site built on ageing technology which is due to reach end-of-life in the coming 12 months after which it will no longer receive security updates and bug fixes”.

Mr Hart said the latest RTI response also undermined Mr de Brenni’s claim that neither he nor his office vetted the commission’s social media.

On December 1 last year, the QBCC’s communications manager Julie Cave sent an internal email which said: “Please see attached the Minister’s Office feedback for our social media posts and graphics”.

She asked for the changes to be made “as a matter of urgency”.

A spokesperson for Mr de Brenni said: “The minister has addressed these matters previously – he did not seek to approve the website.”