Revealed: The state archivist annual report pages removed for being too negative

Two missing pages which the former state archivist claims were removed from his annual report because they were too negative about the State Government can now be revealed. SEE WHAT THEY SAID.

The missing pages of the former state archivist’s annual report - which he claims were removed due to its criticism of the government - can be revealed.

Ousted state archivist Mike Summerell has accused the Palaszczuk government of misleading Parliament by falsifying his annual reports to hide “bad news”.

After ‘anything that could be perceived negatively’ was removed from his 2017/18 annual report, Mr Summerell said he deliberately ‘spoke my mind’ about the government record-keeping in his 2018/19 annual report and kept the full version - two pages of which were removed from the version published by the government.

Mr Summerell, who was stood down from his position last year, provided the original pages from his report today as further evidence of the government’s apparent reluctance to follow transparency processes.

A version later tabled to parliament through the Queensland government website was modified, which removed a statement from the state archivist critical of existing transparency flaws in the legislation.

Mr Summerell released the missing pages - page 7 and 8 - which features a damning statement about the situation in which he says his team implemented ‘wonderful initiatives’ to promote better government recordkeeping but ‘unfortunately, there have been far too many incidents that have led to us investigating potential breaches of the Act by public authorities’.

Former state archivist Mike Summerell.

He goes on to say ‘while that is in itself disappointing, the inability to take action under the Act’s powers for proven breaches is frankly far more concerning’.

“The Act is now over 17 years old and the advances in new communication technologies are creating more digital information than originally anticipated,” he wrote.

“There is now an urgent need for the Act to be updated to reflect this new digital reality.

“As the State Archivist it is increasingly clear that the Act is unfit for purpose in ensuring that the key public records of Queensland are created, managed and preserved appropriately.

“The risk of the Act being no longer meaningful is that key public records that should be made and preserved for the benefit of current and future generations may be lost, or worse, never created at all.”

The missing pages of the state archivist's 2018/19 annual report.

The missing pages are the latest twist after a dramatic bombshell in the integrity scandal, where Mr Summerell has claimed he was ordered to remove details about the Mangocube scandal and ‘anything that could be perceived negatively’ in his 2017/18 annual report.

“In 2017/2018 after drafting my draft annual report I was pressured to remove essentially any content which could be perceived negatively. Explicitly, removal of anything that referred to the Bailey investigations, its findings, its recommendations, its costs, potential improvements to the public records act, the standard of government record-keeping – essentially all the things the Act suggests I report on. It became a completely misleading document. … and intentionally so.”

He then claimed it happened again in his 2018/19 annual report, with the pages removed from the published version.

“In 2018/19 I knew this was going to happen again. I drafted a version of the report where I spoke my mind on the state of government record-keeping etc.

“I was directed again to remove essentially any content that could be perceived negatively. This time I refused.

“I have no doubt that the changes made to my statements in the annual reports of those years were driven by political interest being placed above the public interest … or indeed, the law and democracy itself.”

The missing pages of the state archivist's 2018/19 annual report.

FULL DETAIL - THE CONTENTS OF THE TWO MISSING PAGES FROM 2018/19 ANNUAL REPORT

Message from the Executive director and State Archivist:

The past 12 months have been another year of disruptive innovation and transformation for Queensland State Archives (QSA).

In 2016 QSA set itself the goal of being recognised globally as one of the most innovative archives, and strong progress has been made since, with 2018-19 being a significant year in that journey.

Innovation has become the cornerstone of QSA’s approach with this year’s results reflecting the amazing ideas developed and implemented across the organisation.

I’m hugely proud of the incredible work the teams here deliver every day.

A key strategic focus since 2016 has been to provide new ways for the people of Queensland to experience our collection.

Archives are a key institution in promoting the transparency and accountability of any government and a key measure of success is how many of the records that we keep are accessed by the public.

In 2015-16 only 67,000 records were accessed, in 2017-18 this rose to over 3.5 million records being accessed.

2018-19 has seen another leap in this incredible engagement with over 6 million records being accessed by both Queenslanders and our global community.

The popularity of our digital channels has been a staggering success and the rate of growth is ever increasing.

The digitisation of our physical collection is a huge priority for us going forward with the aim of making our older records available to all, no matter their location.

Due to this surge in access QSA’s key performance metrics have again significantly improved. In 2015-16 the cost per record accessed was a startling $170 per record. In 2018-19 this has dropped to $2.30 per record.

Whilst the digital channels have primarily driven the increase in numbers of records accessed, the number of records accessed physically at Runcorn has also increased notably.

The experience of people coming to Runcorn has also transformed this year.

Our Reading Room has been substantially modernised to improve visitor experience.

Our latest exhibition, Birdcage of the Bay, showcases how we’re delivering innovative exhibitions.

By incorporating virtual reality, puzzle activities, artefacts and items from our collection we’ve designed an exciting exhibition that attracts new visitors on-site.

The integration of technology to provide a different way to access the collection was evident in the launch of Go Fish, an interactive which has dazzled all who have experienced it. A personal highlight is the unsolicited feedback I receive about the experiences people have had while visiting us at Runcorn.

Another highlight of the year was the opening of our Memory Lounge project.

This initiative focuses on providing a welcoming and understanding space for people living with dementia and their families.

It has been hugely rewarding to see the reaction to the Memory Lounge and to see the impact it has had.

Our focus and success in finding new ways for the people of Queensland to experience our collection has been a huge highlight for the year and one which we are all very proud of.

Our reason for existing is the administration of the Public Records Act 2002.

Our Government Recordkeeping Innovation team has implemented some wonderful initiatives this year to promote better government recordkeeping to ensure that the permanent public records of Queensland survive and thrive.

Unfortunately, there have been far too many incidents that have led to us investigating potential breaches of the Act by public authorities.

While that is in itself disappointing, the inability to take action under the Act’s powers for proven breaches is frankly far more concerning.

The Act is now over 17 years old and the advances in new communication technologies are creating more digital information than originally anticipated.

There is now an urgent need for the Act to be updated to reflect this new digital reality.

As the State Archivist it is increasingly clear that the Act is unfit for purpose in ensuring that the key public records of Queensland are created, managed and preserved appropriately.

The risk of the Act being no longer meaningful is that key public records that should be made and preserved for the benefit of current and future generations may be lost, or worse, never created at all.

Overall, there is no doubt we have had a wonderful year.

We set ambitious goals and far exceeded them.

It has been an exciting year and I am hugely proud to be part of a great team looking to transform this organisation and the services it provides.

I would like to thank all staff and volunteers for their energy, enthusiasm and great work throughout the year.

The progress we have made is due to the efforts of this wonderful team here at Runcorn.

We have had challenges and overcome them on all occasions, and I look forward to what 2019-20 will bring.

- Mike Summerell