Watchdog chair to stand aside from Jackie Trad probe

Alan MacSporran to stand aside from assessing complaints about Jackie Trad.

Jackie Trad. Picture: Annette Dew

Queensland’s anti-corruption watchdog chair will stand aside from assessing complaints about Deputy Premier Jackie Trad’s undeclared investment property, after she called him on Sunday about the matter.

Crime and Corruption Commission chair Alan MacSporran has this morning told Queensland budget estimates that while his integrity was not compromised by the “courtesy” call from Ms Trad, he would stand aside because of the perception.

“I have decided after careful consideration, on the basis that the independence and integrity of not only myself but the commission is critically important, as I’ve just acknowledged, that I will in fact stand aside from any decision-making role in the assessment process and/or investigation if it should occur.”

“I don’t do that because I’ve been compromised, I do it because there’s a need to enhance and maintain the reputation and a transparency of the way we operate.”

Mr MacSporran said he received Ms Trad’s call on Sunday to his business mobile, while he was building an IKEA bookshelf in his “trackie pants”. He said he was grateful for the distraction.

But he later described the phone call as: “clearly unusual and possibly could be said to be unwise, because of what we’ve seen develop in the debate about it, but quite harmless really.”

Mr MacSporran said he missed Ms Trad’s call and then phoned her back, to “understand what the call was about”. He said Ms Trad, the Treasurer, had previously called him at state budget time to discuss the CCC’s funding, so he wanted to see if she was again calling about that.

Once he realised she was calling to let him know she was referring herself to the CCC, he said he did not terminate the call because he did not want to be rude, and thought it was harmless.

“It was clear to me it was in fact, as the deputy premier has already said, a courtesy call to let me know she was self-referring,” he said.

“There was no compromise to my integrity.”

Ms Trad told Mr MacSporran that she and her husband had been putting together a dossier of information about the property purchase, to provide to the CCC. It included a copy of a text message Ms Trad’s husband had sent her, informing her he was thinking about buying the Woolloongabba investment property.

She told Mr MacSporran she would not be providing the watchdog with advice that she had received from the state’s Integrity Commissioner, because the Integrity Commissioner had advised against it.

Mr MacSporran told the parliamentary committee that the CCC had completed most of the assessment of the Trad matter, but had been waiting on Cabinet documents to be able to finish.

As he was giving evidence, he said the CCC had received the Cabinet documents, which he said would reveal “the nuts and bolts” of discussion and decision-making about Ms Trad’s signature infrastructure project, the Cross River Rail.

Graft probe could sideline Deputy Premier

Ms Trad could temporarily lose her spot at the cabinet table if the state’s corruption watchdog launches an investigation into her undeclared investment property.

The CCC is considering two referrals about Ms Trad’s inner-Brisbane investment property, which she failed to declare and which stands to rise in value thanks to her signature project, the $5.4bn Cross River Rail.

Ms Trad’s husband bought the property through their family trust in March, days before Ms Trad and her senior colleagues made a major decision about the rail project’s route.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk stood aside her then energy minister, Mark Bailey, in 2017 amid a CCC investigation into his use of his personal email account — [e-mail] — for ministerial business. Mr Bailey was eventually reinstated after being cleared of corruption by the CCC, which heavily criticised him for his behaviour.

Yesterday, Ms Palaszczuk would not rule out standing aside Ms Trad from cabinet should the CCC decide to investigate the circumstances around the purchase of the house, and her failure to ­disclose it.

“It’s not at that stage at the moment, so let’s just wait and see,” Ms Palaszczuk said. “I don’t even know if it’s under assessment yet. It’s been forwarded. I’ll wait to see (what happens).”

Asked whether she would stand aside if the CCC started an investigation, Ms Trad said: “Let’s deal with that when it happens. I’ll make statements if that happens.”

Ms Trad has defended the call as merely a “courtesy” to tell Mr MacSporran she would refer herself to the commission, and not an attempt to influence him.

The opposition’s David Janetzki yesterday wrote to Mr MacSporran. “The Deputy Premier’s decision to call you was inappropriate and has compromised the CCC’s assessment of the complaint against her.

“Without any reflection on you, or your role as chairman of the CCC, I ask you to consider stepping aside from the Deputy Premier assessment and any ­investigation.”

Ms Trad has apologised for not declaring the house but has denied any wrongdoing and says there is no conflict of interest. She has promised to sell the house for no profit once the CCC concludes its assessment.

The Deputy Premier has also stood aside from ministerial responsibility for the Cross River Rail while the matter is being ­considered by the corruption watchdog.

Ms Palaszczuk yesterday said Mr Bailey — now the Transport Minister — would take over from Ms Trad.