Queensland ALP remains ‘at risk of nepotism’

Queensland’s corruption watchdog has warned the Palaszczuk government needs to do more to improve ‘transparency’.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: AAP

Queensland’s corruption watchdog has warned that the Palas­zczuk government needs to do more to improve “transparency and good governance’’ after it failed to put in measures to stop Labor mates being hand-picked for state-owned companies.

The Crime and Corruption Commission criticised the government’s overhaul this year of the selection process for boards of government-owned corporations, ordered after the watchdog’s investigation into the 2016 appointment of Mark Algie as a director of Energy Queensland.

The CCC inquiry and its findings on the government’s board selection process were sparked by reports in The Australian that Mr Algie had not applied for the job or been subject to the formal ­selection process.

Instead, his appointment had been secretly pushed by Electrical Trades Union bosses to then ­energy minister Mark Bailey, a longtime member of the union, in regular back-channel corres­pondence to his private email ­account.

A year-long fight by The Australian under state Right to Information laws for access to Mr Bailey’s private email account revealed ETU bosses were regularly directing the minister over his running of state power companies, which employ thousands of the union’s members.

Mr Algie was appointed to the board after then-ETU boss Peter Simpson forwarded his CV to Mr Bailey weeks after applications had closed. Last year, the CCC found while there was insufficient evidence to mount a corruption case over Mr Algie’s appointment, there was a need for a ­review of the selection process, overseen by Treasury.

A spokesman for Treasurer Jackie Trad earlier this month said its “new guide” for board appointments released this year followed consultation with the CCC.

In a statement, the watchdog confirmed it had been consulted by the government in the drafting of the guide and it represented “an improvement on the situation which existed previously’’.

But the CCC said it held concerns cabinet ministers could still circumvent the official process, which involves Treasury vetting potential candidates.

“The CCC also notes transparency and good governance could be further improved by removing the ability for cabinet to identify nominees or candidates that have not been through the nomination and due-diligence processes,’’ the statement said.

“Ultimately, however, this is a matter for the government, which has, by publishing its guide, been open about the potential avenues for board appointments.’’

In recent months the state government has been accused of favouring Labor-aligned candidates in appointments to various boards. Mr Algie remains on the board of Energy Queensland.

Mr Bailey lost the Energy portfolio in 2017 following an earlier CCC corruption investigation launched when he deleted his private email account after The Australian first sought access to his secret correspondence with the ETU under RTI laws.