Jackie Trad and schools chief in text talk

New text messages emerge between Jackie Trad and Jeff Hunt, the senior Education official stood aside amid a corruption probe.

Former Queensland's deputy premier and Treasurer Jackie Trad. Picture: ABC

New text messages have em­erged involving an exchange ­between Jackie Trad and Jeff Hunt, the senior Queensland Education official stood aside this week amid a corruption probe that also forced the former treasurer and deputy premier to quit cabinet.

The April 2019 texts — now in the hands of the Crime and Corruption Commission — show Ms Trad discussing issues outside her ministerial portfolios in a familiar exchange in which Mr Hunt, the education deputy dir­ector-general, refers to the then treasurer by her nickname, “JT”.

The part-release of the texts, under Right to Information laws, comes just days after Ms Trad ­resigned following the CCC’s notificati­on that it had launched a corruption probe into allegations she interfered last year in the recruitment of a principal in a new school in her electorate.

Several of the backchannel texts between the pair were not released, under the RTI applic­ation by the state opposition, on the grounds they contained ­information that “would reveal a consideration of cabinet’’ and budgetary matters.

Senior government officials have told The Australian that Mr Hunt and Ms Trad have known each other since they met when the Labor MP worked as a policy adviser to then education minister Anna Bligh, who later became­ Queensland premier.

Opposition spokesman Jarrod Bleijie said the texts confirm the pair, both under investigation in the school principal probe, were in contact and discussin­g confidential cabinet issues – despite being in different departments. Ms Trad has denied­ any wrongdoing, and Mr Hunt, who has not been officially identified as the public servant stood aside on Monday, could not be reached for comment.

Under government protocols, the selection of a school principal is made by a departmental panel independent of any minister or MP.

The text exchange occurred the month before Tracey Cook, selected by an Education Department panel to be principal of the Inner City South Secondary College, was dumped after a meeting with Ms Trad and the job readvertised. Ms Cook was later replaced to head the yet-to-be built school.

The department said in Nov­ember that the job was readvertised because “new demographic modelling” showed the student population would exceed 1600 and warranted a higher-paid “executive principal” position.

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The texts were released on the public disclosure log on Tuesday under application to Queensland Treasury, and with the approval of the CCC. A separate RTI re­ques­t for texts between Ms Trad and Mr Hunt made to the Department of Education, and covering the first half last year, is pending “clarification regarding the content of specific documents’’.

It is believed the publicly released texts relate to the provision of teachers in the Brisbane watch-house that, at the time, had been controversially used to hold juven­iles. Mr Hunt, a former prim­ary teacher who has been in the Department of Education for more than 20 years, addresses Ms Trad as “JT” in one text in which he outlines a plan to use relief staff from the Brisbane youth detention centre.

The then treasurer replied: “Fantastic start. Thank you”.

Later that day, Mr Hunt texts that a teacher had been found and another teacher or aid would help at the watchhouse, adding: ”Case closed. (Couldn’t help but add a dad joke)’’.

Mr Bleijie, the Liberal National Party spokesman, said the texts revealed a “cosy relationship” and he doubted Education Minister Grace Grace and Mr Hunt’s public­ service bosses were not aware of the alleged interference over the school principal. “It doesn’t pass the pub test that the minister and the director-general didn’t know that regular text message communication was ­occurring about operational, budget and cabinet matters,’’ he said.

Ms Grace declined to answer specific questions about whether she was aware of Ms Trad’s alleged­ interference or any contact Mr Hunt had with Ms Trad.

“As I have always said, the appointm­ent of a principal is an operational matter independ­ently handled by the Department of Education without involvement from myself or my office,’’ she said in a statement.

“As the matters raised in your inquiry are being investigated by the CCC, it would be inapprop­riate for me to comment further.’’

Ms Trad has denied any wrongdoing, saying she “never expressed a view to anyone on who should fill that role” as principal­ of the school.

On Saturday, she said the CCC probe would “provide me with an opportunity to set the record straight on this matter’’.