Qld integrity crisis: Jo-Ann Miller calls on CCC to hold inquiry
Maverick former Labor minister Jo-Ann Miller has called for a commission of inquiry into the Government’s integrity issues, saying an interim report has only “skimmed the surface”.
QLD Politics
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A former Labor minister has called on Queensland’s corruption watchdog to use its powers to hold an inquiry into the integrity woes within the State Government.
Jo-Ann Miller – who served in Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Cabinet – believes Professor Peter Coaldrake’s interim report handed down last week only skimmed the surface of “some of the rot that’s going on”.
The two decade veteran of Queensland politics and former police minister has also spoken of a “fear” within the public service.
Mrs Miller said she believed the Coaldrake review would be a starting point, and argued public servants needed the legal protections of a commission of inquiry to “tell it the way it is”.
“The CCC (Crime and Corruption Commission) has the powers of a commission of inquiry,” she said.
“I would like to see the CCC conduct such an inquiry because they need to get to the bottom of what’s going on.
“We have an interim chair of the CCC. Perhaps he could take it on board. But the fear within the public service is real. I talk to public servants everyday of the week.”
Mrs Miller said she hoped Professor Coaldrake would make “really meaty” recommendations that would pave the way for public servants to be granted protections.
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She suggested a commission of inquiry would help protect the careers of public servants who chose to open up about their experiences.
“And, also they have to have the trust in the system,” Mrs Miller said.
“A lot of public servants don’t have the trust in the system at this point in time to tell their stories.”
Her remarks came as Ms Palaszczuk refused to comment on The Courier-Mail’s report that soaring numbers of public servants have been making public interest disclosures to report wrongdoing.
“I’m just dealing with the Olympics today, happy to answer any further questions tomorrow,” she said at a press conference.
The Premier is expected to face questions about her government’s integrity on Thursday following the release of Professor Coaldrake’s interim report – which her office said she had read.
The interim report noted a “frequent concern” raised was that of “the perceived overreach of ministerial staff” during “an erosion of the important division between the protective instincts of staffers and public servants’ obligations of impartiality”.
The report involved 60 interviews and 200 submissions.
Ms Palaszczuk has previously described the CCC as a standing Royal Commission, while Opposition Leader David Crisafulli had made repeated calls for a Royal Commission into integrity.
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