Qld ministers won’t stand down during CCC health chief probe, Premier says
Premier David Crisafulli faces mounting pressure over two controversies: ministers under corruption investigation and an exodus of one minister’s staff.
LNP ministers under investigation by the Crime and Corruption Commission won’t be forced to stand down, as the party urged Labor’s Jackie Trad to do, Premier David Crisafulli says.
The CCC is understood to have requested documents from Queensland Health as part of an investigation into the state government’s bungled appointment of Krispin Hajkowicz as chief health officer.
The watchdog has declined to comment on whether it has spoken to, or is investigating, any government minister.
It comes as Mr Crisafulli refuses to comment on an apparent exodus of staff from the office of Youth Justice, Victim Support and Corrective Services Minister Laura Gerber, amid accusations of her abrasive management style.
IT’S NOT A GOOD MESSAGE FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE. READ TODAY’S EDITORIAL AND JOIN THE DISCUSSION
Asked if a minister would be stood down while the CCC investigated the CHO debacle – as current Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie and Attorney-General Deb Frecklington demanded of Ms Trad in 2020 — Mr Crisafulli said there were stark differences between situations.
“I’m not going to deal with hypotheticals,” he said.
“Labor made a complaint, it should be investigated and at the end of it we should be able to have an honest and open dialogue.”
He declined to elaborate on the differences.
The Courier-Mail last month Crisafulli government ministers intervened to scuttle the appointment of Dr Hajkowicz, who was endorsed by Queensland Health director-general David Rosengren and Health Minister Tim Nicholls for the job.
In 2020 Ms Trad stood down as deputy premier after the CCC revealed it would investigate her involvement in the appointment of a school principal.
Ms Trad was later found not found to have engaged in criminal wrongdoing.
Mr Bailey was stood down as then premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s energy and main roads minister in 2016 after the CCC found a reasonable suspicion of corrupt conduct over his use and deletion of a private email address.
Mr Bailey was later cleared of wrongdoing but labelled very foolish by the CCC.
Separately, Mr Crisafulli has also declined to be drawn on the exodus of staff from Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber’s office.
Ms Gerber’s management style has reportedly resulted in 11 workers – including three chiefs of staff – quitting her office in just 10 months.
Government sources have attributed most departures to Ms Gerber’s abrasiveness, but Mr Crisafulli refused to say whether he had asked her to explain her conduct.
“It’s no different to there are people in your industry who might take other opportunities, that doesn’t mean that they didn’t enjoy what they were doing,” he said.
“I’ve got youth crime, I’ve got housing crisis where people can’t afford to own a home, I’ve got people who desperately want to be able to get surgery, and you think I’m going to focus on a gossip column?”
Asked if Ms Gerber had received management training, Mr Crisafulli said he was “not dealing with that”.
Professor Peter Coaldrake’s 2022 report Let The Sunshine In – launched by Ms Palaszczuk due to questions about her government’s integrity – called for appropriate relationships among ministers, their staff and senior public service officers.
“If unreasonable deadlines, bullying interactions, and intemperate demands for action or for compliant advice become pervasive, a fear-based response becomes entrenched in the culture,” he wrote.
Five every day: The e-scooter crisis just got much worse
