Queensland integrity chief Nikola Stepanov alleges campaign to discredit her

The Commissioner says the Palaszczuk government had been ‘back­grounding’ journalists in a bid to discredit her.

Nikola Stepanov is at the centre of an integrity-related scandal that has plagued the Palaszczuk government. Picture: Liam Kidston

Queensland’s Integrity Commissioner is seeking to delay her resignation until the end of the year after making a formal complaint that the Palaszczuk government had been “back­grounding” journalists in a bid to discredit her.

Nikola Stepanov is at the centre of an integrity-related scandal that has plagued the Palaszczuk government since it was revealed in January that she had tendered her resignation amid allegations of high-level interference in her role.

Dr Stepanov, who is midway through her second three-year term, was originally set to leave her job in July regulating lobbyists and providing advice to state MPs and senior public servants over ­potential conflicts of ­interests.

Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission is investigating her complaints of inter­ference, including alle­gations that senior public servants last year seized a laptop containing highly confidential material from her ­office and then wiped its contents.

The revelations in The Australian of Dr Stepanov’s resignation, and the reasons for her decision, triggered separate complaints of interference by former state regulators, including longtime state archivist Mike Summerell.

Dr Stepanov, who is scheduled to appear before a public hearing of the parliamentary economics and governance committee on Monday, wrote to Annastacia Palaszczuk this week seeking to change her departure date.

In her letter, Dr Stepanov told the Premier she believed it was in the public interest to stay in her role until matters were resolved.

Dr Stepanov has also written to the CCC with a complaint that ministerial staffers were involved in backgrounding journalists about her after the scandal broke.

One allegation made against Dr Stepanov to journalists is an unsubstantiated claim she had previously been the subject of adverse findings from the Australian Human Rights Commission.

When contacted, Dr Stepanov said she was unable to comment. Asked whether she had made a new complaint to the CCC about the government allegedly backgrounding against her, she said: “I’m not able to speak about any matters that may be before the CCC.”

A spokesman for Ms Palas­zczuk said he was unable to ­comment.

In February, when Ms Palas­zczuk was asked in parliament whether she would agree to a ­request by Dr Stepanov to delay her departure - so she could attend estimates hearings two weeks after her July 1 finish in the job - the Premier said it was “entirely a matter between her and her new employer”. “That is completely a matter up to her,’’ she added.

Dr Stepanov is set to join Labor-aligned law firm Holding Redlich after she leaves her role as Integrity Commissioner.

The integrity issues is expected to dominate state parliament next week over Dr Stepanov’s new allegations and the testimony of acting CCC chair Bruce Barbour at a parliamentary committee hearing late in February, at which he moved to distance the CCC over the removal of the laptop from Dr Stepanov’s office in March last year by officers of the Public Service Commission.

It followed an earlier February 13 statement by PSC chief executive Robert Setter that seemed to suggest the laptop was taken at the request of the CCC.

“At no time did the PSC ‘raid’ the offices of the Integrity Commissioner,’’ Mr Setter said in his statement. “At no time did the PSC ‘seize’ anything from the Integrity Commissioner. A laptop was provided to the CCC at their ­request.”

Mr Barbour said the CCC requested the laptop only in Aug­ust last year after Dr Stepanov had made a formal complaint about the PSC and its removal of the ­device. “As has been reported in the public arena, a laptop or laptops were removed from the office in March,”he our said. “I think the reason why I just mentioned what I did is to make it clear it wasn’t at the request of the CCC that laptops were removed from the office of the Integrity Commissioner.”