George St Beat: Rumours of workplace disharmony at Bundamba office of Employment Minister Lance McCallum

“Job creation” is taking on a new meaning at the electorate office of Queensland’s Employment Minister, with rumours of a less-than-harmonious workplace environment leading to a steady turnover of staff. THE IS GEORGE ST BEAT

Queensland Minister for Employment and Small Business Lance McCallum. Picture: Dan Peled / NewsWire

Something is afoot in the offices of Employment Minister Lance McCallum.

The Minister of 10 months has struggled to keep electorate staff in his Bundamba office.

Apparently it’s a less-than-harmonious workplace environment which has drawn attention from the man in charge of staff, Clerk of the parliament Neil Laurie, and the Electrical Trades Union.

GSB hears Mr McCallum is out of favour among the powerful ETU, whose backing helped him win preselection for Bundamba at a March 2020 by-election.

The Labor Party is apparently also aware of trouble with one of its newest ministers.

A question about the Minister’s knowledge of claims of a poor work culture in his electorate office was handballed.

“Matters relating to staffing of electorate offices are a matter for the Clerk of parliament,” Mr McCallum’s spokesman said.

Adding to his problem is a highly-unusual attack from the LNP, which has started letterbox dropping his community.

Spies in that deep red Labor electorate showed us a handout branded with Opposition Leader David Crisafulli’s face telling residents “time’s up for Labor”.

It’s early and doesn’t indicate the LNP will launch a full attack on Labor’s third-safest seat, but having the cheek to letterbox there is clever political mind games.

LABOR FLUSHED OUT BY CFMEU

Alienated union CFMEU has taken the win after the state government quietly updated workplace regulations to ensure major building contractors provide proper toilets for women construction workers from January 1.

Political tragics would remembers a major CFMEU protest in June this year when unionists marched on Queensland parliament demanding amenities for female comrades on site.

It was on this day when Industrial Minister Grace Grace was awkwardly photographed in front of a cheeky CFMEU sign which read “Put Labor in the toilet”.

And to celebrate the new changes to workplace rules happy snapping sleuths have sent through never before seen photos from the June protest of Ms Grace and Premier Steven Miles standing underneath signage with less than ideal messaging.

Ms Grace is pictured underneath the words “Labor sells out QLD women” while Mr Miles was on stage as the LED billboard switched over to “Put Labor in the toilet”.

Big yikes.

State Development Minister Grace Grace at a CFMEU protest. Picture Supplied

Premier Steven Miles at a CFMEU protest in June 2023 calling for better facilities for women on construction sites. Picture Supplied

For the record, the government had been working through what the reform would look like when the protest happened, with the regulation made official in recent days.

The CFMEU, in a statement likely vetted numerous times by their administrator overlords, welcomed women “finally” having equal access to bathrooms facilities on site.

COLOURFUL LOBBYIST BACK AFTER LNP STOUSH

Former Howard government minister and one-time LNP factional war lord Santo Santoro has re-entered the lobbying arena after an abrupt exit earlier this year during a messy tilt to get on the party’s powerful state executive.

Mr Santoro, as chronicled judiciously in the pages of the Courier-Mail, took himself off the federal and Queensland lobbyist register hours before inner-north LNP branch members were due to pick a new state executive representative on May 9.

Lobbyists are banned from playing a “substantial” role in Queensland election campaigns under the state’s integrity laws. The LNP in 2011 also banned lobbyists from state executive in a move to clamp down on conflicts of interest — including those of Mr Santoro at the time.

Ultimately Mr Santoro was unsuccessful, the LNP had a period of internal biffo, then things calmed down again.

Santo and Letitia Santor.

And it looks like Mr Santoro has decided to get back on the horse, with the lobbying register showing Santoro Consulting was re-registered on September 16.

Mr Santoro confirmed he had gone back to lobbying after being “asked by people and organisations who value my experience, advice, and assistance to again help them”.

“And I have agreed to do so,” he said.

“I have enjoyed, since leaving parliament, providing small and large businesses advice on how to deal with and make their views heard with political representatives and bureaucracy.”

Guess we’ll be seeing a bit more of Mr Santoro in the halls of power again.

SECRET BUS

A blanket of secrecy surrounded the LNP’s launch of its campaign bus, with journalists unusually not even given the location of the event unless they requested it.

Apparently, the party was concerned the gathering of senior LNP MPs – including Opposition Leader David Crisafulli – would be crashed by Labor sympathisers.

GSB heard those dastardly troublemakers in the Electrical Trades Union were front-of-mind among LNP organisers.

For the first time since 2017 the ETU has dusted off its anti-asset-sales campaign, arguing the LNP will sell energy infrastructure if elected.

RACHEL HUNTER’S OFFICIAL PAYOUT

The true value of the payout handed to former Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s top public servant has finally been revealed.

Former Department of Premier and Cabinet director-general Rachel Hunter famously walked away with a massive six-figure payout in the wake of Ms Palaszczuk’s resignation.

Back of the envelope mathematics had the golden handshake pegged at about $389,000 – based on what six months of her annual salary looked like.

But the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s latest annual report has revealed the true figure was $339,000.

Fair wicket if you can get it.

HOUSING MINISTER STAYS HOME

Miles government frontbenchers were dispersed far and wide across the state this week to spruik housing policy with one exception — Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon.

The Gold Coast based MP, who is in the fight of her life to hold on to her seat of Gaven against the LNP’s Bianca Stone, barely left the glitter strip all week (bar a quick zip up the Pacific Motorway on Friday for a press conference in Logan).

Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon has a fight on her hands to keep her seat. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

And records show Ms Scanlon hasn’t held a press conference outside of the Gold Coast since early August — in a sign Premier Steven Miles wants one of his top performing frontbenchers engaged in hand-to-hand electoral combat as much as possible in the lead up to the October 26 poll.

Ms Scanlon, asked what her lack of travel showed about her chances at the upcoming election, argued she simply loved the Gold Coast and said the government had “fantastic MP and Ministers all across the state”.

“I’ve never taken anything for granted … there’s 11 seats on the Gold Coast, I’m the only Labor representative. I have always been the underdog, and that’s why I have fought hard for my community,” she said.

Originally published as George St Beat: Rumours of workplace disharmony at Bundamba office of Employment Minister Lance McCallum