Queensland Government in culture of cover-up as reports suppressed
A CULTURE of cover-up is permeating Queensland politics, with at least nine instances of secret or partially secret reports being released by the Palaszczuk Government.
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A CULTURE of cover-up is permeating the Queensland Government, with the review of youth detention the latest in a string of reports to be kept secret.
The State Opposition last night accused Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk of stunning hypocrisy after she stood for election on a platform of honesty and transparency.
Ms Palaszczuk backed Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath’s decision to release a $500,000 report in which one-third of the pages were redacted.
That release came the same day Health Minister Cameron Dick quietly announced he would not disclose a promised mental health review into the man charged over the fiery death of bus driver Manmeet Alisher at Moorooka last October, again citing legal constraints.
And it was just two weeks after the Government again blamed the Director of Public Prosecutions for preventing the release of three reports into bungling surrounding the protection of deceased toddler Mason Jet Lee.
Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls said Labor’s credibility had been shredded by its failure to be transparent with the findings of reviews.
Mr Nicholls criticised Health Minister Cameron Dick’s decision not to release the report into bus driver Manmeet Alisher’s death.
“This report should be released,” Mr Nicholls said.
“It relates to matters prior to the terrible events in October, and the treatment and operation of Queensland’s mental health services.
“It’s a cover up pure and simple.”
Mr Nicholls said the Government was breaking its promise on being open and transparent.
“There is a culture appearing now of cover up, of hiding behind the skirts of legal advice without even giving the broadest details of what that legal advice might be,” he said.
Manmeet’s brother Amit Alisher, speaking through an interpreter, said the findings of the review should be made public.
“If it was a mental health issue why was he (the accused) out on the street,” he said.
“The whole world they need to know why he was out.
“There’s no answers.”
There have been at least nine instances of secret or partially secret reports, including the confidential Cross River Rail business case, the classified report into the Moreton Bay signalling faults and the three-day delay in admitting toxic firefighting foam had leaked into the Brisbane River from a Qantas hangar.
Mr Nicholls said the “do-nothing” Government was rapidly descending into a “cover-up” Government as self-interest and political survival overrode the public’s right to know.
“The Premier went to the last election promising honesty, openness and transparency,” Mr Nicholls said.
“But instead, Annastacia Palaszczuk has shown her true colours.
“If it’s controversial, embarrassing or highlights this Government’s maladministration, they simply cover it up.”
Ms Palaszczuk said the youth detention report had to be redacted on the advice of Crown law so it did not breach the Youth Justice Act, but she refused to release that advice.
Ms D’Ath refused to discuss the “distressing” images of children blanked out in the report, despite the fact photos showing the very incidents that sparked the report had already aired in the media.
The inquiry obtained 457 CCTV extracts, 18,300 documents and 828 records of interviews.
“If I start talking about what’s in the photos, it defeats the purpose of actually redacting them,” said Ms D’Ath, who also defended blanking out apparently inconspicuous information around the numbers of detainees, arguing that had to be kept secret for “safety and security” reasons, even though the Government outlined in September there were 48 17-year-olds in adult jails.
Meanwhile, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she will meet with Manmeet’s family - who have travelled from India to Brisbane - next week.
“I would be honoured to meet with them next week and reaffirm my government’s commitment to continue to work with the Indian community following the tragic death of Manmeet,” she said.
“Criminal proceedings in relation Manmeet’s death are continuing and neither I nor representatives of the Government will make any comment that may jeopardise those proceedings.”
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