Crime and Corruption Committee warns of gaps in Palaszczuk government’s integrity law changes

Warnings have been issued by the state’s corruption watchdog over gaps in the Palaszczuk government’s proposed integrity law changes.

The Queensland corruption watchdog has warned of “gaps” in the Palaszczuk government’s proposed integrity law changes which seek to clamp down on lobbying activities, while the state’s Information Commissioner says the proposed bill “does not go far enough”.

They were among key stakeholders – which also included the state’s Integrity Commissioner and Auditor-General – who have voiced numerous criticisms of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s second tranche of legislation pushed forward as a result of Professor Peter Coaldrake’s landmark integrity report last year.

The new laws, currently before parliament’s economics and governance committee, were spruiked by the Premier as implementing cornerstone recommendations of Professor Coaldrake’s review, including increasing the regulation of lobbying activity, and putting a stop to the controversial practice of “dual-hatting” – where a registered lobbyist is involved in the election campaign of a political party during an election period.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

But a public submission by the Crime and Corruption Commission warned the government to consider “amending the definition of a ‘lobbyist’ to ensure it focuses on the activity of influencing rather than the particular individuals or organisations, or the frequency of that behaviour”.

“Recent recommendations made in New South Wales and Victoria provide support for Queensland broadening the scope of its transparency requirements to include in-house lobbyists and other groups and individuals seeking to influence government decisions,” the submission stated.

Peter Coaldrake.

In his submission, Auditor-General Brendan Worrall accused the government of not implementing Professor Coaldrake’s full recommendations regarding enhancing the independence of the Auditor-General.

“Successive governments over this period have failed to fully support and action recommended enhancements to the independence of the Auditor-General,” Mr Worrall wrote.

“I am greatly concerned that the recommendations made by Professor Coaldrake will add to this list if not fully actioned by government.

“By not ensuring the ongoing independence of the Auditor-General from the executive government, it limits the very nature of the independence, real or perceived.”

Mr Worrall also noted he had written to the Premier in May expressing his fears over the legislative changes.

“In the speech introducing the Bill, the Premier expressed my concern as me ‘expanding on the Coaldrake recommendation’,” he said.

“This is a misrepresentation of the concerns I raised

“As outlined in my letter to the committee on 30 June 2023, my main concern is that in drafting the Bill, the government appears only to have focused on the wording of the summary recommendations on page 3 of Professor Coaldrake’s report Let the sunshine in.

“They do not address the full recommendations contained in the body of the report.”

Information Commissioner Rachael Rangihaeata said while she welcomed changes which increased the financial independence of the Office of the Information Commission, “the Bill does not go far enough to fully address the specific recommendations made by Professor Coaldrake”.

Queensland Integrity Commissioner Linda Waugh also said there were “amendments not consistent with a Coaldrake recommendation”.

“(Which) create a vulnerability or opportunity to circumvent what is intended, or where ambiguity may make implementation in practice challenging,” she wrote.

A government spokesman said “the government will consider the recommendations of the Committee based on the feedback of all stakeholders after the committee hands down its report”.