Welcome to Brisbane Times’ Queensland public sector column, Public Circus. This week: The top bureaucrats under the gun in estimates, the Public Sector Commissioner offloads his uranium shares, and the watchdog stopping short of barking.
A number of top public servants are likely to face an awkward grilling during the Crisafulli government’s second block of estimates kicking off this week.
The process of scrutinising how the state’s money is spent, and the figures behind the scenes managing departments and agencies, has a knack for being a fiery yet anticlimactic affair.
But there are a few public servants who can expect to be zeroed-in on, as others have lucrative pay cheques to lose auditioning for roles they’re now serving in an acting capacity.
Government ministers have stumbled over questions about domestic violence prevention funding and undelivered recommendations following the alleged murder of a Toowoomba mother.
Those issues will likely stay under the microscope when domestic and family violence minister Amanda Camm fronts estimates alongside director-general Belinda Drew.
There will surely be some heated questions over the bungled rollout of IT program Unify as well as revelations vulnerable children in state care were sleeping on mattresses in government offices.
Department of Racing boss Andrew Hopper will likely face some curly questions after the deputy commissioner of the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission, Kim Kelly, quit and published a scathing criticism of its independence due to government regulations.
Some have speculated estimates may be a pseudo job interview for Queensland Police Commissioner Brett Pointing, who is serving in the role on a 12-month interim basis.
Meanwhile, some fresh faces will be feeling the nerves, including John Sosso’s acting replacement as director-general at state development Shaun Ferris, and Energy Queensland chief executive Craig McCabe, who has only been in the role for a week.
Mackie offloads last shares as LNP ducks uranium talk
It was the kind of announcement the Crisafulli LNP has been all over: a federal agreement with a major foreign export market for riches the state’s mining sector could send in spades.
Just look at the focus on critical minerals – which has gathered enough steam to warrant audit office scrutiny. Let alone Mines Minister Dale Last’s “I’ll sign, you drill” catchcry.
But on the latest opportunity for the state to tap into its vast uranium reserves to feed into a new export deal between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, Queensland isn’t so quick off the mark.
Australia has the world’s largest uranium reserves – almost a third of the global total. Queensland is one of the states laying claim to some of this, but a politically see-sawing position on its mining is at present planted on the ban side.
This is a position the Crisafulli LNP has repeated since coming to power, despite the efforts of industry to change its mind – as it did last time it held power, despite initial denials it would. “Our position remains unchanged,” Last told us last week.
Time will tell whether that remains the case. One thing which has changed is Public Sector Commissioner David Mackie’s share portfolio. An update to his declaration of interests late last month shows he has offloaded shares in a third uranium miner this year.
Mackie’s sell-off of Peninsula Energy shares now leaves his disclosed interest in public and private companies at nil. Probably not a bad place to be for the current tip to replace John Sosso as Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie’s department chief in State Development.
For a while this term, both Mackie and Sosso had money in three uranium firms, including one with interests – and the largest reserves – in Queensland: Paladin Energy. Sosso still does, despite conflict concerns.
One thing Circus didn’t spot on Mackie’s updated interest declaration? Bleijie’s wedding celebrant services.
New watchdog stops short of barking at LNP bill – again
Almost six months into the tenure of new human rights boss Debbie Platz, and we’ve got another glimpse of what the less “combative” course being charted looks like.
After not engaging in the parliamentary process for the government’s controversial bill to further expand “adult time” youth sentencing, unwind three-strike drug diversion and give police new powers to search and move people on, Platz’s office has bowed out again.
This time, it’s the government’s “circuit breaker” sentencing bill, compared by a number of major stakeholder submissions to the contentious Newman-era “bootcamps”. The program is apparently due to be up and running this year. We’ll see.
The plan will create an alternative to detention for the courts of up to six months in a remote location with a service provider. Documents tabled alongside the bill say some may only be open to boys – and will likely hit First Nations kids harder than others.
After Circus spotted the conspicuous – and before Platz, unheard of – absence of a human rights commission submission, we reached out to the team to check there hadn’t been a mix-up or technical glitch. Nope.
The watchdog first reiterated that evidence shows broader diversion, early intervention, education and housing support, healthcare, disability services and targeted support for kids at risk of reoffending work to address cycles of crime and long-term community safety.
“We are continually looking to identify how we can make the best use of our resources to meet our statutory responsibilities and contribute positively to the lives of all Queenslanders,” Platz said in a statement, echoing her comments from back in March, before getting to the kicker.
“When considering whether to make a submission on a Bill, we consider a range of factors, including the impact a submission may have. On this occasion, we have not provided a submission to government about the Bill.
“Submissions to parliament, which occur at the final stages of policy development, are just one way that we contribute to the development of policy and legislation.”
This is true. But it’s also one of the few ways watchdogs like the commission can do so in a way that the public can see – and to date, it hasn’t seen much else.
Review of pilot DV program caught in a government spin
As flagged above, there are plenty of unanswered questions currently swirling around the government’s efforts at domestic and family violence prevention and reform.
One of the biggest is just what progress has been made on the outstanding recommendations of the landmark Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce for almost a year since this masthead revealed the scrapping of an oversight role the taskforce chair has now spoken up about.
Another is why a pilot program with federal funding and seemingly positive anecdotal reviews recently came to a halt.
The Housing Connectors crisis accommodation model received $4.95 million across 2023-26 as part of a national partnership agreement, with providers picked to deliver services in Toowoomba, Moreton Bay and Brisbane.
A federal social services department website notes this would be subject to a review, a final report of which was due in mid-2025.
Given that, you’d think a question to under-pressure minister Camm about whether the review was completed, and what this found and recommended, would be a simple affair. You’d be wrong.
After fobbing us with some lines about Labor not having funded the program for more than two years (the “pilot” label might have given this away!), Camm was only interested in talking up other initiatives.
Thankfully, word has reached the Circus tent from more open parts of government to suggest the review was, in fact, done.
Pushed on the matter, Camm’s emailed response pivoted to saying Labor “should be ashamed for blaming others” for only funding the pilot program for two years.
Matt Dennien is a reporter at Brisbane Times covering state politics, parliament and the public sector. He has previously worked for newspapers in Tasmania and Brisbane community radio station 4ZZZ. Contact him securely on Signal @mattdennien.15Connect via email.
James Hall is the News Director at the Brisbane Times. He is the former Queensland correspondent at The Australian Financial Review and has reported for a range of mastheads across the country, specialising on political and finance reporting.Connect via X or email.
