Inside bombshell CCC report on former Deputy Premier Jackie Trad that was kept secret for years

Jackie Trad “aggressively” and “inappropriately” interfered in an independent recruitment process to appoint her friend as under treasurer, a bombshell CCC report has revealed.

Jackie Trad “aggressively” and “inappropriately” interfered in an independent recruitment process to appoint her friend Frankie Carroll as under treasurer, a bombshell Crime and Corruption Commission report has revealed.

The long-awaited outcome of CCC investigations into former deputy premier and treasurer Ms Trad and former public trustee Peter Carne were tabled in Queensland Parliament on Wednesday, after being kept secret for several years at a cost of more than $300,000 to taxpayers, it can be revealed.

The corruption watchdog found Ms Trad inappropriately interfered in the independent recruitment panel to lobby for Frankie Carroll, with whom she had a longstanding professional relationship and would occasionally socialise with, to become her under treasurer in 2019.

CCC investigations found an independent panel, chaired by Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Director-General Dave Stewart, had deemed Mr Carroll “not appointable” for the position.

However, Mr Stewart told the CCC he was influenced by Ms Trad’s “extremely aggressive” lobbying and changed his recommendation to mark Mr Carroll as “appointable”.

“The telephone conversations that I had with Trad were extremely aggressive … she was extremely aggressive, very frustrated, and I have said to you that I was influenced by those conversations to change my view,” Mr Stewart told the CCC.

Former Member for South Brisbane Jackie Trad. Picture: Peter Wallis

Frankie Carroll. Picture: Supplied

The report also revealed the CCC was able to listen to a telephone conversation between Ms Trad and the previous mayor of an unnamed regional Queensland council where Ms Carroll had been offered a job.

In the call, Ms Trad revealed she was eager for Mr Carroll to be her under treasurer.

“I’m actually putting the heavies on him to hold out until this is finalised and I’m hoping that it would be finalised,” she said.

“I wanted it finalised before Christmas, that didn’t happen … If I could have he would have been in this job last September.”

The report found Ms Trad “inappropriately interfered with the selection process and Mr Stewart amended candidate three’s status in order to change his suitability for appointment”

“That position, regardless of what process of recruitment and selection is chosen, is unacceptable,” the report said.

The report found no evidence that Ms Trad engaged in corrupt conduct, misconduct in public office or any other criminal offence.

However, it found Mr Stewart’s conduct was “capable of meeting the definition of corrupt conduct” and by altering the assessment of Mr Carroll from not appointable to appointable was “so serious a breach of his obligations” as panel chair that it could warrant dismissal.

Crime and Corruption Commission chairman Bruce Barbour said it was “not merit that carried the day, but aggressive advocacy” by Ms Trad and Mr Stewart “acceding to that advocacy”.

Former Labor Member for South Brisbane Jackie Trad. Picture: Jono Searle

“The chair of the recruitment panel, the Director-General told the CCC that he gave in to aggressive pressure from the senior minister to promote the abilities of a candidate who had been identified as not appointable,” Mr Barbour said.

“Possibly the issue of greatest concern to the community is the abrogation of responsibility by senior public servants.”

Ms Trad denied to the CCC that she aggressively lobbied for Mr Carroll – who is now the highly paid chief executive of the Suburban Rail Loop Authority in Victoria – while Mr Stewart said he reconsidered Mr Carroll’s suitability.

The report into Ms Trad was kept secret after the High Court in 2023 found a similar one authored by the CCC should not be released.

Last night, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington revealed the former government’s “cover-up” of the report into Ms Trad had cost Queensland taxpayers more than $300,000.

In 2022, then-Labor government admitted taxpayers were footing the bill, but said Ms Trad was accessing taxpayer funding because she had initiated the court action as part of her capacity as a former government minister.

The former government said it would overhaul laws surrounding the CCC’s reporting powers, but did not do so before the October election.

Ms Trad spoke out in a statement on Thursday morning and blasted the LNP for the report’s release.

“The tabling of the unlawful CCC reports in the Queensland Parliament is a direct measure of the lack of respect the Queensland LNP Government holds for the Courts, including the High Court of Australia,” she said.

“This also sets a dangerous precedent for a government; to use their numbers in Parliament to set aside and disregard a well-considered, balanced and fair judgement from the highest court in our nation, without legislative amendment or scrutiny.”

Former Queensland public trustee Peter Carne. Picture:/ Martin Ollman

Ms Frecklington moved a surprise motion on Wednesday to compel the Clerk of the Parliament to release the reports into the pair.

Ms Frecklington labelled the release of the reports “a day of transparency” after the former government had declined to do so.

“They were prepared to move heaven and earth to keep them hidden,” she said.

Opposition Leader Steven Miles and shadow treasurer Shannon Fentiman – a close friend of Ms Trad – exited the chamber as the debate about the reports started.

“My God, they scurried out,” Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said.

Manager of Opposition Business Mick de Brenni said the government was “wasting this parliament’s time”.

“They have used gutter politics to in fact disguise the reality that they have no real work to do,” he said.

“If they think for a moment this is what Queenslanders pay them to come and do, muck-rake, get engaged in gutter politics, then they are kidding themselves.”

Mr Carroll was appointed the chief executive of Victoria’s Suburban Rail Loop Authority in 2021 – after Ms Trad lost her seat at the Queensland election – on a salary of $680,000 to $700,000. The minister responsible for the project – the largest infrastructure project in that state’s history – at the time was now-Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.

Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Originally published as Inside bombshell CCC report on former Deputy Premier Jackie Trad that was kept secret for years