Jackie Trad in bid to block CCC report into public servant appointment

The State Opposition has told Parliament former deputy premier Jackie Trad has applied to block the release of a report by the corruption watchdog.

Jackie Trad has applied to the Supreme Court to block the release of a corruption watchdog report into allegations she intervened in the appointment of a top public servant when she was state treasurer, State Parliament has been told.

Manager for Opposition Business Jarrod Bleijie used parliamentary privilege to raise a “most serious issue” related to an important CCC report that Queenslanders were being blocked from seeing.

Mr Bleijie said he had heard from a number of sources that the CCC’s investigation into the independent recruitment process of former under treasurer Frankie Carroll had been completed but its release was being blocked by court action initiated by Ms Trad.

The matter was referred to the CCC in May 2020 by the LNP after it was contacted by a whistleblower who alleged Ms Trad had interfered in the independent recruitment process, which had actually chosen another candidate.

“The only thing stopping this CCC report being tabled into parliament is Jackie Trad,” Mr Bleijie told the Parliament.

“Jackie Trad is so determined to hide this report from the public eye that she has applied to the Supreme Court of Queensland to have the report suppressed from being made public.”

He said the court action followed action by another – “disgraced former public trustee Peter Carne” – who had applied to the Supreme Court to have a different CCC report into his conduct suppressed as well.

Mr Bleijie said Mr Carne lost that court action and had now taken the case to the Court of Appeal.

“I’m told the Supreme Court are holding off making a final decision on the Jackie Trad matter until the Court of Appeal hand out its decision in respect to Peter Carne,” he said.

The Opposition MP said CCC reports “given to Parliament for tabling” shouldn’t be “kept in the dark”.

Former deputy premier Jackie Trad was unseated at the 2020 election.

“I call on Jackie Trad to withdraw her application,” he said.

Mr Bleijie called for the report’s immediate release.

“We do not know what’s in the report ... but what we do know is you don’t run off to the Supreme Court to have the matter hidden from the public if you have nothing to fear or hide,” he said.

He called on Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to order its release

Opposition frontbencher Tim Mander wrote to the CCC in July 2020 requesting it investigate an allegation Ms Trad had interfered in the 2019 independent recruitment process for the role of under treasurer, filled by Frankie Carroll.

He requested the body to look into claims an independent recruitment process had actually chosen former Commonwealth Bank executive Leon Allen.

In his letter, Mr Mander asked the CCC to consider whether she had engaged in misconduct.

At the time, Ms Trad complained it was the third time she had been referred to the CCC by the LNP and “they are clearly possessed with political point scoring”.

The former member for South Brisbane, who lost her seat at the 2020 election, has previously been cleared of corrupt conduct by the CCC over her failure to declare a house purchase and in relation to the recruitment of the principal of the Inner City South State Secondary College.

Mr Carroll was shifted to the new Department of Regional Development after Ms Trad quit her ministerial role in May, 2020, upon learning she would be investigated by the CCC over the school principal recruitment saga. There’s no suggestion of wrongdoing on his part, nor is it suggested he was not qualified for the role.

Mr Carroll was replaced by long-serving public servant Rachel Hunter, who is now Director-General of the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Mr Allen was appointed as deputy under treasurer.

Leader of the House Yvette D’Ath, who spoke after Mr Bleijie, briefly addressed the allegations.

“I thought I’d heard it all, but listening to the Manager of Opposition Business and the Member for Kawana and a former attorney-general saying now the Premier should intervene to stop someone from accessing their rights to the Supreme Court or somehow direct them into releasing something is quite extraordinary, but not surprising, really not surprising from the Opposition,” she said.

A spokesman for Ms Palaszczuk said: “It’s a matter for the CCC and a matter for the individuals involved.”