Queensland Auditor-General Brendan Worrall slams Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s integrity laws

Queensland’s Auditor-General has pushed back at the state government’s next tranche of integrity laws, saying keeping the budgets of integrity bodies under the control of the executive threatened their independence.

Queensland’s Auditor-General has pushed back at the state government’s next tranche of integrity laws, saying allowing the budgets of integrity bodies to remain under the control of the executive was a “direct threat” to their independence.

During a public hearing into the proposed integrity law changes on Friday, Auditor-General Brendan Worrall said it was critical the accountability of the office was shifted from the executive government to Parliament.

“(It would) ensure that the level of assurance delivered by integrity officers reflects the level Parliament requires, not the level the government may want,” he said.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Professor Peter Coaldrake.

“I believe this separation is even more important when there is only one parliamentary chamber.”

Mr Worrall has been critical of the government not including a proposition put forward by Professor Peter Coaldrake to align “responsibility for financial arrangements and management practices with the Speaker of Parliament and the appropriate parliamentary committee, rather than the executive government”.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, while introducing the laws, said Mr Worrall’s push was “expanding on the Coaldrake recommendation” – something he said was a “misrepresentation”.

“While the government retains key responsibility for integrity bodies, including ultimately responsible for deciding their budgets, it has the capacity to influence how integrity bodies discharge their mandate even if it elects not to,” he said.

Queensland Auditor-General Brendan Worrell.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s integrity reforms have come under fire.

“For example … I may seek to increase the number of performance audits I wish to conduct based on feedback from the parliamentary committee or members of parliament.

“Even if the parliamentary committee supports a proposal for additional funding, the government may decide to reject it. This could be due to concerns about how the audits may reflect on government performance.”

The hearing comes as the Premier and the government face pressure over the scrapping of a key recommendation of the Coaldrake – the introduction of a complaints clearing house.

Instead, according to Public Sector Commissioner David Mackie, it was dumped because it was set to cost $10m to establish and a further $6m to operate each year.

Mr Worrall told the hearing “I fully acknowledge that addressing Professor Coaldrake’s recommendations may take additional time”.

“However, I believe there are some changes that could be considered now as part of this bill.”