Queensland election: Premier stalls on public service report

A $165,000 report into the largest bureaucracy in the state’s history won’t be seen before the election, it has been revealed.

Queenslanders won’t see $165,000 KPMG report into the state’s growing public service before they head to the polls, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has confirmed.

The Australian reported the government had commissioned the professional service giant — and paid it $165,000 plus GST — to investigate the size of the bureaucracy and whether it has resulted in improved services for Queenslanders.

The state’s bureaucracy is now the largest in Queensland history, expanding by more than 16,000 under Ms Palaszczuk’s tenure, to employ 217,578 full-time-equivalent workers and growing at a faster rate than the population.

LIVE: Queensland election coverage

Even though the KPMG report has been finished for months — and Ms Palaszczuk has repeatedly promised to release it once Cabinet has considered it — today she confirmed it would not happen before the election, on November 25.

“That was scheduled to go to Cabinet, it was in the Cabinet process,” she said. “It was scheduled for end of November, early December.”

Asked why it hadn’t gone to Cabinet earlier, Ms Palaszczuk said it was because of “Cabinet processes”.

“These are Cabinet processes that everybody knows exist in Queensland. And as I said very clearly, once it goes to Cabinet it will be publicly released.”

Ms Palaszczuk said voters wanted taxpayer-funded frontline services in their communities, which meant the public service needed to grow after cuts by Opposition leader Tim Nicholls when he was the Newman government’s Treasurer.

“Our (public service) growth rate is 3.2 per cent and we know that very clearly, people want frontline services in their communities, that’s why I committed to 400 extra police officers across this state, 53 right here in Townsville,” she said. “I’m backing this city. When you want to talk about frontline services, go and ask Tim Nicholls which doctors he’s going to cut from the hospitals, which nurses he wants to cut from the hospitals, and which teachers and which teacher aides.”

LNP leader Tim Nicholls criticised the Premier for keeping the taxpayer-funded report secret and promised to release it immediately if elected.

“I think it is completely unfair, Queenslanders have paid for this report,” he said.

“What is it hiding?

“What should it be telling us about what has happened in the last two-and-a-half years while Annastacia Palaszczuk and Labor have been in charge.

“If we are in charge we will release it straight away.”

The Australian revealed at the weekend that Right to Information documents showed Ms Palaszczuk’s office had been systematically delaying the public release of independent workforce data — measuring the increasing size of the public service — for up to 14 weeks at a time.