Queensland’s corruption watchdog makes fresh call for urgent law changes to allow release of Trad report

The head of Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission says it is ‘inarguable’ that the watchdog should be able to publicly report on its investigations.

Former Queensland deputy premier Jackie Trad. Picture: AAP

The head of Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission says it is “inarguable” that the watchdog should be able to publicly report on its investigations, as the state Labor government stalls on giving it the powers it has asked for.

Explosive reports into Labor identities Jackie Trad and Peter Carne have been suppressed by a landmark High Court decision that muzzled the CCC from publicly releasing most of its investigations into ­politicians and public servants.

CCC head Bruce Barbour last year called for urgent law changes, warning that the inability to report on matters uncovered during investigations reduced transparency and was not in the public interest.

Premier Steven Miles this week committed to law changes but cast doubt about whether they would be retrospective, meaning reports into Ms Trad and Mr Carne could remain secret.

Mr Barbour told a parliamentary hearing on Friday that the CCC had not seen any draft laws from the government and again insisted any law changes must be retrospective to ensure legal ­action was not taken against the watchdog over previous reports it had tabled in parliament.

“From my perspective, it is absolutely unarguable that it’s in the public interest for the CCC, to be able to have robust reporting provisions, to be able to ­report publicly and to tell the community about our work, what we do, how we do it,” he said.

Mr Barbour said other bodies conducting investigations, such as the auditor general or commissions of inquiry, were free to publicly release reports.

“So it’s very difficult to understand why a different standard would even be contemplated in relation to the CCC,” he said.

Mr Barbour pointed to Victoria’s anti-corruption commission as the nation’s best model, able to report “at any stage on any matter that it thinks is ­appropriate”.

The state government is still considering legal advice it ­received last year and Mr Miles said new laws would be put to parliament “just as soon as they are ready”.

“We want to see the CCC be able to report but we also want them to do that in a way that conforms with what the High Court said in its decision and so are these complex legal matters to be considered there and we want to get it right,” he said.

The Trad report, finalised in early 2021, stemmed from an ­investigation into the 2019 ­appointment of her under treasurer Frankie Carroll, but was widened into a probe of recruitment across the ­bureaucracy since Labor came to power in 2015.

It is understood the report did not recommend any charges against Ms Trad, who has denied wrongdoing, but was scathing about the politicisation of senior ranks of the public service.