Will Annastacia Palaszczuk regret Tony Fitzgerald appointment?

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Monday. Picture: John Gass

Annastacia Palaszczuk knows there are few names she can drop at a press conference with the same reverence as that of Tony Fitzgerald.

His inquiry into police and political corruption under Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s conservative government of the 1970s and ’80s – first exposed by The Courier-Mail and ABC – dragged the state out of the dark ages.

It put the police commissioner in jail and, on Fitzgerald’s detailed recommendation, led to the standing royal commission, now known as the Crime and Corruption Commission, to safeguard against a return to the bad old days.

It is that reputation Palaszczuk wanted to tap and use to wash over the widening integrity issues her government is now facing when she announced on Monday his appointment to head an inquiry.

But under the terms of reference of the inquiry, Fitzgerald – vocal in his criticism of the Newman government, its judicial appointments and moves to undermine the CCC’s predecessor – is only looking at the corruption watchdog and the powers he recommended it be given. The Premier was adamant there is no need for the inquiry to look at other issues; don’t worry that it is narrow and targeted at the processes of the CCC, she got Fitzgerald!

And forget the breathtaking allegations by the Integrity Commissioner and former State Archivist of political interference that threaten to ensnare senior people in the government.

Palaszczuk says those allegations are already being investigated. It just so happens they are being looked at by the CCC, the same body so tarnished she has ordered an inquiry into it. And there appears to be no budging from the government, with the Premier saying the terms of reference for the inquiry have “been set” and finalised in consultation with Fitzgerald.

But Palaszczuk, in her rush to nominate him, may have forgotten a small but crucial aspect of Fitzgerald legend.

And that is, how he moved the goalposts set by the National Party government back in 1987, and successfully demanded the widening of the original terms of reference to investigate police sleaze to political corruption.

Perhaps Palaszczuk should ask those with long memories on the other side of politics in Queensland what happened when they turned to Fitzgerald all those years ago. The decision came back to bite them, but the state was the better for it.