Former Queensland minister Kate Jones’s secret texts with factional ally Grace Grace

Former Queensland Labor minister Kate Jones sent Grace Grace a ‘high level outline’ of a company’s proposal now the subject of talks with the Miles government.

Grace Grace, left, and Kate Jones in 2019 Picture: AAP

Former Labor minister Kate Jones texted her factional ally, State Development Minister Grace Grace, a “high level outline” of a company’s proposal now the subject of negotiations between the company and the Miles government.

The details of the business and Ms Jones’s connection to it are being kept secret by the government, Ms Grace, and Ms Jones, despite the information raising questions about whether it is an example of Ms Jones acting as an unregistered lobbyist – an offence under Queensland law.

A series of text messages between Ms Jones and Ms Grace was released to The Australian under Right to Information laws, but the correspondence from February 23 this year was entirely redacted on the basis that the negotiation information could “reasonably be expected to prejudice a company’s business affairs” and identify the company and its proposal “that could reasonably be expected to be the subject of public controversy”.

Ms Jones – now an Australian Rugby League Commissioner, executive director of the Tech Council and strategy and engagement adviser to rich-lister Bevan Slattery’s Soda – has engaged a solicitor to refuse to answer The Australian’s questions, even declining to say whether the unnamed company is a member of the Tech Council or is part of Mr Slattery’s corporate portfolio.

Australian Rugby League Commissioner Kate Jones talks to former Broncos player Allan Langer before a Brisbane Broncos game in March at Suncorp Stadium. Picture: Bradley Kanaris

Both reasons would have been legitimate contexts for Ms Jones to contact her old friend, former ministerial colleague, and Old Guard factional ally.

In February, when the text messages were sent, Ms Jones was a “specialist consultant” for the Canberra-based lobbying firm Akin Agency and not a registered lobbyist.

The former state development, tourism and innovation minister quit Akin in March, after The Australian revealed she had organised and attended a meeting with Ms Grace for one of the firm’s now-paid lobbying clients, drinking water company Source Global, on June 7 last year.

The firm registered as a lobbyist on December 8, two days ­before Annastacia Palaszczuk quit as premier, with Ms Jones later privately boasting of playing a central role in the political plot that prompted her exit. 

Ms Jones’s involvement in the firm was not mentioned in Akin’s declaration on the register; her former ministerial staffer Alex Dickson was its only ­declared ­lobbyist.

Solicitor and defamation specialist Patrick George wrote to The Australian on behalf of Ms Jones, suggesting the newspaper’s questions about the text messages were “fishing for information” after the RTI officer refused access on public interest grounds.

“Our client therefore declines to answer your questions consistently (sic) with the Principal Officer’s response. Your questions, however, raise inferences which, if published, would carry defamatory imputations about our client, damaging to her reputation,” Mr George wrote.

“Our client has not engaged in unregistered lobbying or attempting to influence the decision-making of a government minister on behalf of a third party for fee or reward in breach of the Integrity Act 2009.”

Under the state’s Integrity Act, lobbying is defined as “any attempt to influence the decision-making of a government or opposition representative in the exercise of their official functions on behalf of a third party, for a fee or other reward”.

Lobbyists who act on behalf of third party clients must register with the state’s Integrity Commissioner before contacting a government representative, and it is an offence to engage in lobbying ­activity if unregistered.

Of the meeting with Source Global and Ms Grace on June 7 last year, Ms Jones has said she was there in her capacity as a board director of the Tech Council of Australia, of which Source was an “associate member”.

Source does not appear on the Tech Council’s public list of members and the council – through its public relations firm, Akin Agency – did not answer an inquiry to confirm the company’s membership status. Akin owner Kate Lord and Ms Jones have repeatedly refused to say whether Source was an Akin client in June last year.

The RTI documents also reveal that one month after the meeting with Ms Grace, Ms Jones sent her a text about Source.

“Hi Gracie! Thought I would forward this to you. I think the water dept (sic) was keen to partner with your dept, thanks Kate,” Ms Jones texted on July 3 last year.

The forwarded message is redacted, but the departmental RTI officer has confirmed it was a forwarded message from a third party, and the correspondence is being kept secret to protect that person’s privacy.

Ms Grace responded: “Thanks Kate we are following up, I’ve met with Min (Glenn) Butcher (Water Minister) and our departments are going to collaborate on a pilot. We will be in a position to contact Source soon for a meeting”.

A spokeswoman for Ms Grace said: “No pilot eventuated, and no funding was provided to Source. Ms Jones was contacting the minister about Source in her capacity as a board member of the Tech Council.”

The RTI documents also show Ms Jones texted Ms Grace on February 10 last year, seeking a meeting for her and Andrew Peach, the general manager of the National Rugby League at the time.

“Hi Gracie, I hope you are well. Could Andrew Peach come and see you and talk rugby league? When you have a chance. We could come to Parliament if that is easier, K x,” Ms Jones wrote to Ms Grace, then minister for education, industrial relations and racing.

“Of course, call my office and we’ll get a meeting asap,” Ms Grace replied.

Ms Jones. left, and Ms Grace in 2015. Picture: Sarah Marshall

Public records revealed Ms Jones had also held a meeting with then deputy premier Steven Miles on May 24, 2022, with Godfrey Mantle, chair of one of Queensland’s largest hospitality firms, Mantle Group.

Mr Miles later said the meeting was for Mr Mantle to “discuss government assistance” for the re­development of his restaurant at the top of Mount Coot-Tha in Brisbane, and Ms Jones told him she was “receiving no remuneration or other consideration for assisting Mr Mantle to arrange the discussion”.

Mr Mantle, Ms Jones and Mr Miles have all refused to say why she arranged the meeting or why she was there.

She also set up separate meetings with Queensland Labor ministers Craig Crawford, Scott Stewart, Leanne Linard and Ms Grace on February 24, 2022, for Indigenous charity Ganbina and its chief executive, Anthony Cavanagh. Ms Jones was not paid by Ganbina.

Ministerial diaries show Ms Jones and Mr Slattery met with Ms Palaszczuk on October 12 last year, along with senior ministerial staff. Mr Miles met Mr Slattery on the same day, but Ms Jones was not listed as an attendee.

Ms Jones retired from parliament at the October 2020 election but has remained close to Mr Miles, with her Old Guard faction helping to deliver the numbers for his ascension to premier after Ms Palaszczuk quit.

Ms Palaszczuk banned three lobbyists – former ALP state secretaries Cameron Milner and Evan Moorhead, and David Nelson – from lobbying her government after an investigation by The Australian revealed they had secretly run her 2020 campaign.