Annastacia Palaszczuk promises to act on Jackie Trad

Annastacia Palaszczuk will be forced to make a decision about the political future of her deputy and rival Jackie Trad.

Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad in Townsville on Wednesday Picture: Alix Sweeney

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will be forced to make a decision about the political future­ of her deputy and rival Jackie Trad on Friday, as Queensland’s corruption watchdog hands down its findings.

A senior Queensland Labor source has told The Australian that Ms Palaszczuk should have acted weeks ago to remove Ms Trad from cabinet and sack her chief of staff, David Barbagallo, who is also under an integrity cloud.

“Objectively, it’s irrelevant what the CCC decides. The Premier should have acted ages ago,” the source said. “It’s destroying her government.

“Trad should have gone to the backbench and Barbagallo should have been punted.

“This is not a Labor government I recognise.”

The Crime and Corruption Commission will confirm on ­Friday whether it will launch a full investigation into allegations that Ms Trad failed to declare the purchase of an inner-Brisbane investment property close to where her signature infrastructure project, the Cross River Rail, will be built.

It is alleged Ms Trad did not declare the purchase — by her husband through their family trust — at cabinet meetings where major decisions about the project were made. She has apologised for failing to declare the house on her public pecuniary interest register until she was contacted by a journalist­ months later.

Ms Trad has denied any wrongdoing but has signalled she will step aside from her cabinet roles of Treasurer and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships if the CCC decides to investigate.

In that scenario, Ms Palas­z­czuk must stand Ms Trad aside and instigate a temporary cabinet reshuffle — and pick someone else to act as Premier when she flies to Europe for an Olympics bid trip on Sunday.

Insiders believe a more likely course is for the CCC to clear Ms Trad of corruption and rule out launching an investigation.

This would leave Ms Palas­z­czuk to decide how to punish Ms Trad for alleged breaches of the ministerial and cabinet handbooks for allegedly failing to make the necessary declarations.

The Premier would still be under political pressure in the second­ scenario to relegate Ms Trad to the backbench and pick an alternative acting Premier.

The likeliest replacements for Ms Trad’s Treasury role are seen as Ms Palaszczuk herself, State Development Minister Cameron Dick or Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones.

Ms Palaszczuk promised on Thursday that she would act.

“The CCC will be bringing down its finding tomorrow,” she told parliament.

“As (Alan) MacSporran, the chair of the CCC, said in the public hearing, it would not prevent them making recommendations or commenting on the breach (of the ministerial handbook).

“I will be looking at those findings. As I said, I will be taking ­action.”

The CCC is still assessing the government’s decision to buy a $267,500 stake in a company part-owned by Mr Barbagallo.