Questions over grant to Premier’s Chief of Staff

Annastacia Palaszczuk now says she has known since last year of her staffer’s link to a grant.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (left) and Chief of Staff David Barbagallo. Pictures: News Corp/Supplied

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk now says she has known since last year that a company co-owned by her chief of staff David Barbagallo received a $267,500 “co-investment” from the state government for a cruise-tracking app.

Ms Palaszczuk is being quizzed about the matter on the first day of Queensland budget estimates today, and has ordered her Director-General to conduct an audit into the payment.

She said the decision for the government’s business development fund to “co-invest” in Mr Barbagallo’s company, Fortress Capstone, was made by an “independent investment panel,” with no government representatives.

Ms Palaszczuk said Mr Barbagallo filled out his pecuniary interest register to reflect the payment, and sought Integrity Commissioner advice on the matter.

She said he had advised her “last year” that his company had been successful.

“For completion, the Director-General will conduct an audit,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

On the first day of Queensland budget estimates, Opposition leader Deb Frecklington asked Ms Palaszczuk whether she was aware Mr Barbagallo’s company Fortress Capstone had been given a $267,000 grant from the state government.

Ms Palaszczuk said she would take it on notice.

A company search shows Mr Barbagallo has been a director of Fortress Capstone since 2007. The state government’s Business Development Fund gave Fortress Capstone Pty Ltd’s “CruiseTraka” a grant, for “a smart phone based solution used by passengers to share their cruise experience with family and friends back home in almost real time via social media and email”.

Asked whether Mr Barbagallo had declared his interest in Fortress Capstone, as required by the Ministerial Handbook, Ms Palaszczuk said: “I’m advised by my chief of staff that yes, it has been declared”.

Mr Barbagallo was a senior adviser to former Labor premier Wayne Goss, and returned to government in 2017 to work for Ms Palaszczuk.

After further questioning from the Opposition, Ms Palaszczuk agreed to hold an audit into the grant.

“Happy to do an audit”

Opposition MP Ray Stevens asked: “In those daily conversations, Premier, has the Chief of Staff ever advised you personally that his company has received in excess of a quarter of million (dollars) in grants from the government?”

Ms Palaszczuk answered: “Everybody needs to abide by the rules … there has been no ministerial decision around it, it’s done independently.”

“And I’m sure the Chief of Staff took every step to ensure all matters are above board. Now that you’ve raised the issue I’m happy to do an audit to ensure all processes are followed.”

Under the fund, investment decisions are made by an independent panel of investors appointed by the government. The fund co-invests between $125,000 and $2.5m through the fund, is at least matched by the corporate investor.

Mr Barbagallo’s appointment as Ms Palaszczuk’s chief of staff was announced on May 12, 2017. The grant to his company was awarded in the 2017-18 financial year.

Ms Palaszczuk did not answer repeated questions about whether Mr Barbagallo had personally told her about the grant to his company, but she did say he disclosed it by providing her with his pecuniary interest register.

Estimates has also uncovered:

— Clerk of parliament Neil Laurie only found out the government was going to hold a regional sitting of parliament in Townsville after it appeared in the local newspaper. Mr Laurie confirmed he discovered the whole parliament would shift to north Queensland for sittings beginning September 3 when the story ran in the Townsville Bulletin on June 19.

— It will cost $70,000 to shift Labor backbencher Cynthia Lui’s electorate office from Mareeba (in her sprawling far-north Queensland electorate of Cook) to Cairns, outside the seat.

— Speaker Curtis Pitt – the Labor MP who was Ms Palaszczuk’s Treasurer in the government’s first term – spent $65,219 of taxpayers’ money on overseas travel for him and his wife in 2018-19. He went to New Zealand and the United States with his wife, and then England, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu by himself.

The hearings continue.