Mark Bailey’s office didn’t ‘direct’ public servants

Mark Bailey’s office sent an email to the transport department with a ‘couple of things to consider’ including deleting references to the true cost of the government’s train building program.

Mark Bailey answers questions during a Transport and Resources Committee Estimates Hearing at Parliament House. Picture: Dan Peled / NCA NewsWire

Transport Minister Mark Bailey’s office has been cleared of breaching the ministerial staff’s code of conduct after asking public servants to “‘consider” deleting references to a $2.4bn cost blowout on the state’s flagship manufacturing program.

Mr Bailey’s office sent an email to the transport department on July 3, with a “couple of things to consider” including deleting reference to the true cost of the government’s train building program.

The cost of the program, to build 65 trains in Maryborough over 35 years, had surged from $7.1bn to $9.5bn.

Days before Mr Bailey’s office asked the department to delete reference to the $9.5bn figure, he and Ms Palaszczuk had released a joint media release with incorrect costings.

Mr Bailey did not disclose the blowout when he held a press conference in Maryborough later that day to announce that a contract had been inked.

The Department of Premier and Cabinet on Monday evening revealed an investigation by John McKenna KC had found Mr Bailey’s office had not “directed any public service employee”, which is prohibited under the state’s code of conduct for workers in ministerial officers

“In my view, a reasonable recipient of the email would understand the email to be merely requesting that changes to the communication plan be considered – rather than issuing a direction as to actions which were required,” he wrote.

“It could not reasonably be said that the sender, by way of the content of the email, ‘directed’ any public service employee, or ‘attempted to direct’ any public service employee, in breach of the ministerial code of conduct.”

The 12-day review did not consider why Mr Bailey’s office wanted the true cost of the program removed from communications.

Mr Bailey was investigated by the Crime and Corruption Commission in 2017 for deleting his private “mangocube” email account, used for back-channel communication with union officials.

The CCC cleared Mr Bailey of corruption but slammed his deletion of public records as foolish, injudicious and a technical breach of the law. He also breached the ministerial handbook.