Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has responded to her government’s integrity crisis following the release of explosive emails between a minister and a union.
Ms Palaszczuk labelled the private emails between Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey and now deceased Electrical Trades Union boss Peter Simpson as “poor practice” in a press conference on Friday.
“Let me make it very clear that those practices were not good practices – those practices do not happen now, they’re fixed,” she said.
The Premier pushed back on claims the then energy minister made decisions in cabinet based on Mr Simpson’s orders despite a long thread of disturbing emails.
“Firstly, I have written to all ministers, secondly, the state archivist wrote to all ministers as well, everybody is aware of their obligations now,” she said.
“These matters have been canvassed at length, they have been examined at length, and there are no findings of any corrupt conduct.
“The minister has apologised probably I think three or four times now.”
Ms Palaszczuk also labelled the emails as “stakeholder consultation” and a normal practice of government.
“You can actually have consultation with a whole range of stakeholders, this is normal government practice,” she said.
Ms Palaszczuk and Mr Bailey were slammed over the dark underbelly of labour’s integrity in parliament on Thursday.
Chains of emails linked to the state government’s so-called “mangocube” scandal from 2015 revealed a hit list of bureaucrats who posed a “big risk to Labor”, a minister being told how to act by a union boss and concerns over losing voters if a project was not approved.
Former state archivist Mike Summerell’s 2017 report to the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC), which was made public on Wednesday, looked into the legality of Mr Bailey using his own private email for government business and then deleting the email account.
Mr Summerell slammexjmtzywd 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.”
Mr Bailey is at the centre of the 2015 email scandal after he used his private email [email protected] to proofread and draft energy trade union media statements from Mr Simpson.
There are also 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 email from a (redacted) angry man”, referred to Mr Bailey as their “star recruit” and detailed 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 an email about 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.
The CCC investigation found that Mr Bailey had breached the Ministerial Handbook – rules governing policy, practices and procedures – but found no evidence that he wanted to conceal corrupt conduct and did not pursue criminal conduct charges.
