Queensland election 2020: Premier’s claim to not know Mike Kaiser contradicted by her diary

Claims by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk that she did not know former Labor State Secretary Mike Kaiser have been contradicted by her own diary which clearly shows she met with the political mastermind on numerous occasions this year.

Claims by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk that she did not know former Labor State Secretary Mike Kaiser have been contradicted by the Premier’s diary which shows clearly she has met with Kaiser at least a half dozen times since April.

Kaiser, a former state Labor MP and now a partner in consulting firm KPMG, has been working with the State Government on the state’s economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID outbreak, sparking Opposition claims that taxpayers are footing bills for “Labor mates.’’

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Mike Kaiser with former premier Peter Beattie in 2000.

Kaiser, one of the brightest stars of the Queensland Labor Party in the 1990s who was made state secretary at the age of 30 in 1993 and was former premier Anna Bligh’s chief of staff, is making no comment on his work with the State Government.

KPMG, with strong ties to the Australian Labor Party, issued a brief statement in response to requests for a comment saying:

“KPMG is providing assistance to the COVID-19 Taskforce, including engaging with industry groups to inform planning for the economic recovery strategy.’’

Ms Palaszczuk, in response to a reporter’s question last week about Kaiser (which the reporter pronounced wrongly) said: “I don’t know who you’re talking about, sorry”.

Yet the Premier’s own diary shows the Premier, who would have known of Kaiser’s identity for more than one quarter of a century, met with him on several occasions over the past few months including six times since April for meetings with topic that included “economic recovery” and “coronavirus”.

Mike Kaiser’s son Joseph with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Federal MP Milton Dick in 2017. Joseph now works in the Premier’s office. Picture: Facebook

Former Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has defended the one time Labor prodigy, saying Kaiser had done nothing wrong in working with a state government in his role as a partner at KPMG, even if the perception might be problematic.

Former National Party Premier Rob Borbidge has also acknowledged Kaiser’s extraordinary political skills, even though they caused him so much grief more than one quarter of a century ago.