Annastacia Palaszczuk and Minister Mark Bailey have been slammed in parliament this morning after intense emails revealing the dark underbelly of labour’s integrity were released in a report last night.
Chains of emails linked to the state government’s so-called “Mangocube” scandal from 2017 show a hit list of bureaucrats who pose a “big risk to Labor”, a Minister being told how to vote by a union boss, and concerns over losing voters if a project was not approved.
The emails contained within former state archivist Mike Summerell’s secret report to the crime and corruption commission looked into the legality of the deletion of public records in private emails by the then-energy Minister Mark Bailey.
Mr Summerell slammed the government’s response to the integrity saga as “an attack on the accountability of government and its place in a free and democratic society”.
“There are a number of emails that arguably direct Minister Bailey as to how he should act in Cabinet or in his role as a shareholding Minister,” Mr Summerell wrote.
“Whether Minister Bailey took heed to these directions is something that the state archivist has expressly avoided exploring.”
The current Transport Minister Bailey is at the centre of the infamous Mangocube scandal after he used his private email [email protected] to proofread and draft energy trade union media statements from the now-deceased electrical trade union boss Peter Simpson.
There are also a number of emails that directed Mr Bailey on how to act in cabinet or in his role as a Minister.
Mr Summerell found Mr Bailey seemed to have difficulty managing his relationship with the ETU, and recommended the Integrity Commissioner review the link.
The report was requested for release by the government following its ongoing integrity crisis.
The emails between the Minister and ETU boss from June 2015 were labelled “an angry emxjmtzywail from a (redacted) angry man”, referred to Mr Bailey as their “star recruit” and wrote why the union is having to take industrial action against a government “we put there”.
“Despite the strings he pulled and effort to get Mark Bailey into parliament, he is failing to deliver” Mr Simpson wrote in resolving a dispute with Select Solutions/Ergon.
The union boss was also aware when cabinet was voting on WorkCover changes.
“You’re apparently getting three options to vote upon tomorrow in cabinet for the WorkCover changes, A is the only acceptable option,” he wrote.
In a statement made to 4BC Radio, a Palaszczuk government spokesman said: “The independent watchdog, the CCC, fully investigated and dealt with this matter in 2017.”
“Minister Bailey was cleared of any wrongdoing.”
The CCC wrote in a statement at the time of investigation in 2017 that the crime and corruption commission indicated it did not identify any evidence to support the allegations.
The commission was of the view the use of a personal email account for ministerial purposes was a breach of both the Queensland ministerial handbook and the ministerial information security policies but are not criminal offences and therefore do not amount to corrupt conduct.
Mr Bailey had used his personal email account to engage in conduct that would amount to corrupt conduct as defined in the Crime and Corruption Act, the CCC wrote.
The CCC did not pursue criminal conduct charges against Mr Bailey.
