‘Frayed around edges’: Qld Labor stalwarts urge integrity ‘reset’ after Coaldrake review
It’s been 30 years since the Fitzgerald Inquiry, and Queensland Labor heavyweights say the party needs this week’s Coaldrake review to be a “spring-cleaning exercise”.
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A Labor stalwart says the Palaszczuk government should use the looming Coaldrake review as a “reset”, as another warns it will make for a “challenging time” for politicians and bureaucrats.
Professor Peter Coaldrake is set to hand down his landmark report into the public service within days, paving the way for Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to take action on integrity and lobbying in the state.
Former Beattie and Bligh government minister Robert Schwarten – who was also an MP in the Goss government – on Sunday said he viewed the review as a “spring-cleaning exercise”.
“I think that it’s 30 years since we had the last one (with the implementation of the Fitzgerald Inquiry),” he told The Courier-Mail.
“We had 32 years of National Party rule and we ended up with a shambles. We haven’t ended up in the same shambles.
“After a period of three decades, things start to fray around the edges and I think it’s a great opportunity to trim them up and have a good look at yourself.”
Mr Schwarten labelled the review a “smart move” from the government, and suggested recommendations would be made that would make “for a challenging time for politicians and for bureaucrats into the next while”.
“And that’s what they’re meant to do,” he said.
“It’s a fact of life that whatever they recommend is going to require some challenges for government and that’s why you do it I guess.”
QUT adjunct associate professor John Mickel, who is also a former Labor minister and speaker, said the government needed a “reset” as it emerged from the pandemic.
“I get it that these have been a difficult two years and that you’ve needed instant decisions and probably a lot of things have gone to a (Cabinet Budget Review Committee) process,” Mr Mickel said.
“But what’s needed coming out of that pandemic is a reset.
“Looking at the draft (interim report) of the Coaldrake (review), you certainly need a reset of Cabinet process.
“If there have been slippages because of Covid, use it (the Coaldrake review) as a reset.”
The Premier called the Coaldrake review in the wake of a series of integrity woes uncovered by The Courier-Mail.
Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said on Sunday she was looking forward to the report because she suggested she very rarely dealt with lobbyists herself.
Ms Scanlon pointed to Ms Palaszczuk’s previous suggestions that the government would be happy to look at what could be done to strengthen lobbying laws.
Asked if she would advocate for swift action on the issue, Ms Scanlon said: “I’m always a big advocate for swift action”.
“We want to make sure that we’re delivering the laws that Queenslanders expect of us and so I’m sure that’s what we will be doing,” she said.
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