Jackie Trad’s political future hangs in the balance for at least two more weeks

Corruption watchdog chairman Alan MacSporran has been questioned about an investigation into Treasurer Jackie Trad’s investment property purchase and gave some sign of when a decision will be made.

JACKIE Trad’s political future will continue to hang in the balance for at least the next two weeks with the state’s corruption watchdog revealing it is determining whether or not it will launch an investigation.

Crime and Corruption Chair Alan MacSporran this morning faced questions before a parliamentary committee about the assessment of the Deputy Premier and her family’s Woolloongabba investment property purchase.

CFMEU goes on the attack against Jackie Trad ahead of Labor state conference

“I think the time for the completion of the assessment … will be in the next couple of weeks,” Mr MacSporran told the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee hearing.

Crime and Corruption Commission chairman Alan MacSporran is this morning facing a parliamentary committee. Picture: Dan Peled/AAP

“There’s just a couple of loose ends that need to be tied up before we can reveal the results of our assessment.”

The Government has been sweating on the results of the assessment with Ms Trad promising to stand aside should the CCC investigate.

The matter saw both Ms Trad and the Premier take heavy fire over the ongoing integrity saga.

It is set to cause ructions at this weekend’s Labor conference with the CFMEU floating potentially moving against Ms Trad.

Other Left unions have distanced themselves from any such action, pledging to back Ms Trad should her future be raised.

“It might seem like a long time. It’s not, I can assure you, given some of the complexities involved in this,” Mr MacSporran said of the length of the assessment.

“It has been hastened, the process, by the deputy premier’s cooperation in immediately not only referring herself but providing the documentation the next day, the Monday after the phone call to us.

“We sought the documents from Cabinet, which were provided to us. They were quite voluminous. So it’s almost complete.”

Mr MacSporran confirmed the CCC did not have jurisdiction over any breaches by Ms Trad of the ministerial code of conduct, but indicated the watchdog could make recommendations regardless.

“Of its own, if that’s all it is, it is not a matter for us,” he said.

“It wouldn’t prevent us making recommendations or commenting on the breach but it is not a matter we could investigate, no.”

Mr MacSporran said there would need to be evidence the breach was deliberate and for personal gain in order to justify an investigation.

“If someone claims for instance that the Deputy Premier failed to declare the purchase of the house and then took part in Cabinet discussions about the Cross River Rail project and so forth, that would be a breach of the handbook procedures,” he said.

“But it wouldn’t be corrupt unless it was done deliberately with the intention of personal gain.”

“That’s why the assessment deals with that.

“If there was evidence that it was done deliberately for personal gain, that would be capable of being corrupt and then that would justify us launching an investigation.”