CCC probe renews Queensland royal commission calls

The Queensland opposition has seized on Crime and Corruption Commission concerns about “disproportionate” access for lobbyists, ramping its calls for a royal commission into the Palaszczuk government’s decision-making processes.

But the Labor government batted away the suggestion and insisted its rules around lobbyists were the strongest in the nation.

the CCC has raised concerns about the access lobbyists have to decision makers in 1 William Street.Credit: Matt Dennien

The CCC on Friday announced an expansion of its probe into the influence of lobbyists on the state government, including an audit of contact records, after a recent surge in access to senior government decision-makers.

The corruption watchdog made a rare public statement to candidates ahead of the 2020 state election about the dangers of improper influence.

“Since that time, data from allegations made to the CCC, as well as its own investigations and intelligence, is clearly indicating that the corruption risks associated with influencing practices — the means by which people access elected officials and public sector decision-makers in order to effect or encourage a particular outcome — have intensified,” its discussion paper, released on Friday, noted.

“While in many circumstances access to government decision-makers is conducted legitimately and in accordance with existing regulations, corruption risks may still arise.”

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli, in Calliope for Saturday’s Callide byelection, described the CCC’s announcement as “one of the most extraordinary developments in the Queensland integrity crisis”.

“It shows a culture that is rotting through the state government, a culture where lobbyists have unfettered control, unfettered access and where it is all about the inner workings of the political process, not how we can serve Queenslanders,” he said.

“Make no mistake, these are damning, damning allegations and when you have a situation where a large percentage of public servants feel as though they are being intimidated, and that corruption is running rife, that shows you that there is something drastically wrong with the state government.”

Crisafulli said the CCC’s actions were a “step in the right direction” as he, once again, called for a royal commission.

“Anything short of a royal commission won’t give whistleblowers the protection they need, won’t give the openness and transparency that Queenslanders deserve,” he said.

It was left to Multicultural Affairs Minister Leanne Linard to respond to Crisafulli’s demands.

“What the government has always said, and what the Premier has always said, is we are absolutely open if more changes and measures need to be made,” she said.

“Queensland has some of the strongest lobbying rules in the country, made by Labor governments, but if there is more that needs to be done, the Premier herself has been clear repeatedly that we’ll absolutely look at that and do that.”

Linard said government members were “strong supporters of those robust agencies”, such as the CCC.

“We’ve defended them, including when the former government would seek to not support those sorts of agencies,” she said.

“So we welcome [the CCC investigation] and if there’s any recommendations out of it that can strengthen what is already one of the strongest regimes in the country around lobbying, then we’ll look at that.”