Secret Queensland probe reveals ‘a breach of protocols’

An investigation in the early days of the Palaszczuk government warned of potential ‘inappropriate lobbying’ at the highest levels of the cabinet.

Former Queensland minister Mark Bailey. Picture: Liam Kidston

An investigation in the early days of the Palaszczuk government warned of potential “inappropriate lobbying” at the highest levels of the cabinet and exposed a hit list of supposed Liberal National Party-aligned bureaucrats.

A report presented to the Crime and Corruption Commission by former Queensland state archivist Mike Summerell and kept secret since 2018 revealed extensive use of back-channel lobbying of then cabinet minister Mark Bailey.

Some of the almost 1200 emails found in Mr Bailey’s private [e-mail] email account, which were recovered after he had deleted his account in response to questions by The Australian, were deemed to have been sent in breach of protocols regarding the management of cabinet-related material and ministerial records.

Among the emails was a hit list, allegedly compiled for then deputy premier Jackie Trad, of supposedly LNP-friendly ­bureaucrats.

There were several emails showing the then energy minister’s close association with the Electrical Trades Union and his perceived indebtedness to his former union.

There were also “potentially problematic” emails to or from the private email accounts of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath and Housing Minister Mick de Brenni.

The emails, sent between 2015 and 2017, and the report were kept secret for four years but were revealed by the parliamentary crime and corruption committee on Wednesday.

“These include matters such as potential inappropriate lobbying of the minister; breach of protocols around the management of cabinet-related material and the management of ministerial records in general,” Mr Summerell noted in his report.

It included a section titled Potential Evidence of Improper Conduct. Among it was an email from Rail Tram and Bus Union member Noel Morris with the subject: “The risks arising from LNP bureaucrats and backers”.

“As briefly discussed the other night and requested, some information on LNP supporters from within the bureaucrats, below is an extract from an earlier email to Jackie (Trad) and Mark Bellaver (Ms Trad’s chief of staff) on the topic,” Mr Morris wrote.

“It obviously focused on Jackie’s area and a little dated now, however it gives you an example of the level of LNP influence in the senior levels of the bureau­cracy in Queensland, my sources tell me in particular the Main Roads bureaucracy is very much aligned with the LNP.”

The email chain shows Mr Morris warned Ms Trad about the “big risk” to Labor from mid-level and senior bureaucrats with ­supposed LNP allegiances.

“For example, the parliamentary estimates process is likely to be the mechanism to put the government under a ‘blow torch’ with the precarious parliamentary situation if the LNP supporters want to destabilise the Labor government,” he warned.

As examples, he listed Teresa Harding, now mayor of Ipswich; former deputy-director general Amanda Pafumi; and former Queensland Rail chief executive Helen Gluer.

Mr Summerell said the “most striking issue of concern” was the “conflict of interest Minister Bailey has between his role as a minister and relationships that existed and continue to exist with certain organisations and individuals that commenced prior to his appointment as a minister”.

That included 353 emails classed as public records relating to correspondence with the Electrical Trades Union.

One email from former ETU state secretary Peter Simpson discussed enterprise bargaining agreements and appointments to the Energex board.
The state archivist said one of the email threads appeared to show Mr Simpson had “knowledge of an upcoming Cabinet vote for changes to WorkCover and advising the Minister of which way to vote”.
Another email from Mr Simpson to Mr Bailey was critical of his performance as Minister.
“Peter Simpson raises concerns that, in spite of the strings he pulled and effort to get Mark Bailey into parliament, he is failing to deliver in resolving the ETU and Select Solutions/Ergon energy dispute,” the report said.
In that email, Mr Simpson questioned, “Why are we having to take industrial action against a Government we put there?”.
“The content of some of the emails explicitly and implicitly implied an expectation on Minister Bailey to always be “on their side”,” Mr Summerell wrote in his report.
“Mr Simpson on more than one occasion mentions the assistance ETU provided for Minister Bailey, and the Labor Party in general, in being elected and his view that he and they ‘owe them’.
“Minister Bailey frequently responds in purely acknowledgement terms but on occasion does indicate he or others will follow up on the matters raised by the ETU.”
Mr Bailey was a member of the ETU prior to his election in 2015 but resigned in March 2015 to limit perceptions of undue influence in his role as shareholding Minister of government-owned energy corporations.
“It is however clear that the relationship continued relatively unchanged and at times significantly escalated,” Mr Summerell said.
“There are a number of emails that arguably direct Minister Bailey as to how he should act in Cabinet or in his role as a shareholding Minister.
“Whether Minister Bailey took heed to these directions is something that the State Archivist has expressly avoided exploring.
“The seeming ETU awareness of what Cabinet was discussing or about to discuss, sometimes in detail, was alarming.”

In a letter with the report to the PCC, acting CCC chairman Bruce Barbour said the state archivist, based on legal advice, deemed pursuing charges against Mr Bailey for unauthorised disposal of public records would “not be possible to prove” and was not in the public interest.

“The CCC’s consideration of the matter, including its decision not to pursue charges, was based in part on the advice of the State Archivist,” Mr Barbour said.