Deputy Premier accuses LNP of recycling old email attacks

Deputy Premier Steven Miles has accused the LNP of recycling its old "playbook" after questions about the use of private emails resurfaced during Queensland estimates hearings.

On Monday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was grilled over her private email account, [e-mail], after the opposition tabled a 2015 email, purportedly sent from minister Mark Bailey's infamous "mangocube" account, discussing a hiring decision.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles has accused the LNP of recycling its old 'playbook' on the use of private emails.Credit: Jono Searle/Getty Images

Ms Palaszczuk refused to say whether she had used the account for government business before she banned the practice in 2018.

"I have said previously that I have had a private email account, I have said that publicly," she said.

Speaking to reporters before estimates began on Tuesday, Mr Miles said the Premier had discussed her use of a private account in 2018.

"All of this was investigated in great detail by the CCC and as well as the State Archivist at the time," he said.

"Frankly, if [Opposition Leader] David Crisafulli is serious about saying he is going to be a different kind of leader, then why the hell are they continuing with the exact same types of attacks that defined the last two terms of the LNP opposition?

"They were terms that were incredibly unsuccessful.

"They went backwards each and every time.

"This new leader has turned up to his first estimates with exactly the same playbook as his two predecessors."

Mr Miles told the hearings he had a private email account but he had not used it for government business, and he had never emailed the stacia1 account.

Agricultural Industry Development Minister Mark Furner also said he had never emailed or received an email from the stacia1 account.

In 2017, an RTI showed Mr Miles had sent emails from his ministerial account to his private account.

His spokeswoman at the time said Mr Miles sent the emails on "rare occasions" because he could not print at home using his work email account.

Ms Palaszczuk has previously denied using her private email account for work.

In 2018, the Premier banned her ministers from using personal email accounts and apps such as Snapchat to discuss official business, following a corruption investigation into Mr Bailey.

Mr Bailey, who was energy minister at the time, was temporarily stood aside over his use of the [e-mail] email account, which he subsequently deleted.

The Crime and Corruption Commission found that Mr Bailey's deletion of the account could have been considered a breach of law but because the emails were found to not contain corrupt material and because the account was later recovered, he was cleared of wrongdoing.