Palaszczuk’s cabinet reshuffle defies integrity report warnings

A major Queensland government department will change for the sixth time in 10 years amid a shake-up of the state’s ministerial portfolios, with warnings the move defies a landmark integrity report.

A major government department has been forced into a sixth “expensive and disruptive” slice and dice of its operations amid Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s frontbench shake up, in a move which defies warnings from a landmark integrity report.

A raft of “machinery of government” changes were sparked by last week’s rare reshuffle of cabinet, with youth justice, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partnerships, and child safety to undergo the biggest shifts.

It is the sixth time in a decade youth justice and child safety has been changed, and the seventh for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partnerships in the same period.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk with Education Minister Grace Grace on Sunday. Picture: Richard Walker

The landmark Coaldrake Review into government integrity last year “urged” for “self-restraint to be applied” by governments to limit changes “to those which are absolutely necessary”.

Ms Palaszczuk, on Sunday, said the machinery of government changes were “minor” and would “serve the people of Queensland”, later defending the moves as a necessary part of the frontbench reshuffle.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli accused the government of bogging down the public service instead of making their work easier, while Opposition integrity spokeswoman Fiona Simpson slammed Ms Palaszczuk for “deliberately defying” integrity advice.

“Not only has the Premier failed to act on critical integrity measures, now she’s deliberately defied integrity recommendations for the Public Service for her own political benefit,” Ms Simpson said.

Professor Peter Coaldrake, in the report, warned machinery of government changes were “expensive and disruptive” with suggestion a simple name change can “cost in the vicinity of $5m to rollout across the state”.

He also noted the “burden” of operational changes disproportionately impacted “agencies with a significant role in the regions” and those which deal with the most disadvantaged and vulnerable.

“Restructuring of agencies and changing boundary lines is no substitute for strategy and, in itself, no guarantee for delivering better services,” the report stated.

The Queensland Auditor-General, in a report tabled early last year, also warned machinery of government changes caused “significant disruption”, took “considerable time” to do and created “inefficiencies and increasing costs”.

It was estimated the changes made after the 2020 election cost the government’s internal payroll section $2.2m, or 17,000 hours to make happen – and this doesn’t include the time spent by departments to get alterations made.

The latest machinery of government changes include moving parts of the State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning department and also Queensland Treasury into Housing.

The Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs has been broken up for parts, with multicultural affairs heading to the Department of Environment and Science while child safety heads to a newly named entity which includes seniors and disability services.