Push for Palaszczuk to stand down Trad

Annastacia Palaszczuk has been challenged to stand down her deputy, Jackie Trad.

Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad, left. and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at a cabinet meeting yesterday. Picture: AAP

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has been challenged to “show some leadership” and stand down her deputy, Jackie Trad, over an undeclared investment property and alleged ­conflict-of-interest issues.

Ms Trad, the leader of Queensland Labor’s dominant left faction, confirmed yesterday that she would stand aside from cabinet and her role as Treasurer should the Crime and Corruption Commission launch an investigation.

The corruption watchdog is assessing the purchase by Ms Trad’s husband, through their family company VBT Investments, of a $695,500, three-­bedroom, inner-Brisbane home on March 27.

The house is in Woolloongabba, near where the government plans to build a station for Ms Trad’s signature infrastructure project, the $5.4 billion Cross River Rail. Ms Trad failed to declar­e the house on the pecuniary­ interest register, and it is not clear whether she declared the house at meetings about the project soon after the purchase.

The opposition claims the house stands to rise in value as a result of the public transport ­development, and represents a conflict of interest with Ms Trad’s role as the minister in charge of the Cross River Rail. She has since temporarily stood aside from that part of her job.

After returning from a week-long overseas trade trip, Ms Trad said she called Ms Palaszczuk yesterday and confirmed she would step aside from cabinet should the CCC decide to investigate.

She brushed aside suggestions that she would have limited polit­ical pain for the government had she made the announcement ­before leaving on her trade rip.

“We’re in the game of politics, and people will sling mud left, right and centre,” she said.

Ms Palaszczuk said if the CCC did “go down the path of an invest­igation … of course, the Deputy Premier will stand down”.

But Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said Ms Palaszczuk should act now. “Annastacia Palasz­czuk needs to show some leadership and stand Jackie Trad down immediately …. Annastacia Palaszczuk is meant to be the Premier of this state,” she said.

Ms Trad has promised to sell the house for no profit once the CCC finishes its probe.

CoreLogic research for Woolloongabba shows that house prices­ have ­remained relatively steady in the suburb since the house was bought.

The median house price for the suburb at the end of March was $747,797, and the most recent data records the median as $747,488 at the end of June.

Ms Frecklington said Ms Palasz­czuk should also sideline her chief of staff, David Barba­gallo, until the CCC finished assess­ing an integrity complaint against him. Mr Barbagallo is a director­ and shareholder of Fortress Capstone, a company that received $267,500 in state government ­financing last year for a cruise-tracking smartphone app.

The Australian has revealed Mr Barbagallo bought an extra $100,000 in shares in the company­ as the application for government investment was lodged in July 2017, two months after he took the job as the Premier­’s top political adviser.