Crisafulli promises Qld public service overhaul to change ‘rotten culture’
Opposition leader David Crisafulli has unveiled a major shake-up of the public service and his no forced redundancies pledge in a pitch to 250,000 bureaucrats.
QLD Politics
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David Crisafulli has moved to put Campbell Newman’s war on the public service behind the LNP, promising no forced redundancies and an end to the current “bullying” of bureaucrats.
In a bold pitch to the 250,000 Queensland public servants, Mr Crisafulli insisted the Newman-era sackings didn’t work, saw the party punished by Queenslanders and would not be repeated by a government he led.
He also pledged to create a new two-year graduate program to attract new talent to the public service and make it the best-performing public service in the nation.
Mr Crisafulli, in an address to the Queensland Media Club lunch on Tuesday, released a seven-point plan targeted at improving culture and performance of the state’s public service.
The policy was also aimed at easing voter concerns, fuelled by the state government, that a vote for Mr Crisafulli would see a return to the Newman-era sackings.
“You will see a host of fanciful claims and bogeyman stories from the government about me, the LNP and a government that by the election will have been gone for a decade,” Mr Crisafulli said.
When asked whether non-frontline roles would be lost through voluntary redundancies or natural attrition, Mr Crisafulli said the government had been “embarking on that process for the last few years”.
Mr Crisafulli’s attempt to put public servants at ease repeats a similar effort by then-LNP leader Deb Frecklington, who in 2020 also ruled out “any forced redundancies” amid attacks from the government about Mr Newman’s public servant sackings.
A new, unfunded graduate program – which Mr Crisafulli said would be costed before the next election – would see graduates undertake a two-year program consisting of four six-month placements across the public service.
Placements will involve training across policy and strategy, data and digital, project management, financial acumen; and legal and ethics.
Brisbane graduates will be sent to the regions for one rotation and vice versa.
Mr Crisafulli’s Queensland Media Club address was provided after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk withdrew and rescheduled for February.
Ms Palaszczuk’s absence was defended by Transport Minister Mark Bailey, who said the Premier “has a very intense diary”.
Mr Crisafulli used the speech to promise to create a “truly independent” Public Sector Commission by removing Directors-General and the Under Treasurer from a council that oversees public sector governance.
“Critical to returning independence to the public service – we will be severing the link between the Premier’s department and the Public Sector Governance Council,” he said.
“This will signify very clearly the days of a public service where staff withhold or change advice out of fear of reprisals are over – I want to unleash the fearless and frank advice currently being silenced by Labor’s rotten culture.”
The pledge follows Peter Coaldrake’s 2022 review into culture and accountability in the public sector, which noted bureaucrats often “feel pressured” by ministerial staff or more senior officers to produce advice fitting with the preference of the minister.
“Personal interactions with some ministers and ministerial staff, and indeed some senior officers, can be disrespectful, belittling, or bullying, and long-term detriment to careers real or apprehended,” the report said.
Budget papers reveal full-time-equivalent bureaucrats increased by 44,900 between 2014-15 and 2022–23.
Employee expenses are expected to be $32.17bn this financial year.
Mr Crisafulli also used the media club appearance to reveal there would be “no changes” to Queensland’s abortion laws if he becomes Premier.
The declaration could cause angst within the LNP where abortion remains a contentious issue.
Mr Crisafulli also pledged to create an independent infrastructure delivery agency to ensure the Olympic Games – which he said had become a “vanity project” for the government – delivered benefits to the state.
Mr Bailey said there was “absolutely nothing of substance” in Mr Crisafulli’s speech.
“What he did do was use the Campbell Newman playbook by reassuring public servants,” Mr Bailey said.
“Everything would be fine under him.”
Mr Bailey said the structured two-year graduate program proposed by the LNP leader was “just a little bit of dressing for him to try and talk about something”.
The opposition leader argued the government was failing to respond to challenges facing Queenslanders.
“They know the best days of the Premier are well behind her and they know the
challengers nipping at her heals are those who have caused most of her problems,” Mr Crisafulli said.
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