Queensland Minister Mark Bailey defied ban on private email for work for two weeks

Queensland Minister Mark Bailey defied a ban by Annastacia Palaszczuk on using private emails for work for two weeks.

Queensland minister, Mark Bailey, at Queensland State Parliament yesterday.

Queensland Minister Mark Bailey told parliament he “committed to complying’’ with premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s cabinet order last year not to use private email for work — despite copies of his emails showing he then defied the ban for almost another two weeks.

The emails show Mr Bailey only stopped using his “[e-mail]’’ for backchannel correspondence — including with activist group GetUp! — after receiving advice that emails on the account could be accessed under state Right to Information laws.

Mr Bailey today faced questioning by the state opposition after the RTI release of emails from his private account revealed the then-Energy minister last year ignoring both a public and cabinet room order from Ms Palaszczuk for her ministers not to use private email.

Ms Palaszczuk issued the public order on January 17, and then reiterated the ban at a January 23 cabinet meeting.

It followed revelations by The Australian that Mr Bailey — a longtime member of the Electrical Trades Union, which championed his preselection — had been in secret correspondence with the union’s officials over a range of workplace issues relating to the state-owned power companies.

Mr Bailey, who resigned as an ETU member after becoming Energy minister, was in charge of the power companies that employed thousands of ETU workers.

Under questioning, Mr Bailey today told parliament he was unaware of Ms Palaszczuk’s January 17 public ban for her ministers not to use private email because he was overseas but was present when the premier issued the order again in cabinet.

“I can report to the chamber that I was in fact on leave and out of the country until my first day back at work on Monday January 23. Upon my return I was briefed on matters that occurred while I was on leave,” Mr Bailey told parliament.

“As soon as the matter of personal email use was raised at cabinet on the afternoon of January 23, I committed to complying with the Premier’s directive.”

But the newly-released emails, obtained by the state opposition this week under the RTI Act, show Mr Bailey continuing to use his private email account for portfolio business after Ms Palaszczuk’s cabinet order and up until February 3.

That was the same day his then chief of staff Denise Spinks — who is now one of Ms Palaszczuk’s top staffers — sent an email to Mr Bailey saying she had just received official advice that emails on his private account could be obtained and publicly released under the RTI Act.

Mr Bailey then stopped using his private email account.

Questioned about the affair in parliament, Ms Palaszczuk did not criticise the minister’s explanation.

“The directive has been issued and ministers are complying with that directive,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

Last year, the Crime and Corruption commissioned launched an investigation into Mr Bailey when he deleted his private account on February 5 after The Australian newspaper filed an RTI on January 19 for the public release of emails between him and the ETU.

Mr Bailey has since claimed he was not aware of the RTI application and had not read a February 3 email from Ms Spinks informing him that RTI officers had confirmed that his private emails may have to be released under The Australian’s application.

The CCC later found Mr Bailey could not be charged with a criminal offence for deleting the email account — in defiance of the Public Records Act — because they were later able to be recovered. CCC boss Alan MacSporran found Mr Bailey had acted in­appropriately by using the private email —breaking ministerial rules — and by deleting it.

Mr Macsporran said there was a “corruption risk’’ in ministers using backchannels such as private email.

Opposition leader Deb Frecklington said Mr Bailey clearly defied Ms Palaszczuk.

“Labor’s email scandal has descended into high farce, with Annastacia Palaszczuk a Premier in name only as Mark Bailey continues to deliberately undermine her leadership.

“The Premier warned her cabinet to cease using private email accounts and yet we find out that Mark Bailey blatantly ignored her and continued to do so.

“Surely, after 18 months of dithering, the Premier has no other choice then to sack Bailey.”

It was also revealed today that Mr Bailey canvassed GetUp, a left-wing activist group, using his private account on January 23 asking for help to campaign on the government’s renewables target.