Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she "never, never, never" wanted the state's Integrity Commissioner removed from office and insists she was following the proper process when she referred her for potential investigation.
Key points:
- Queensland Premier confirms she referred complaints about the Integrity Commissioner to a parliamentary committee
- Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was acting on the advice of the Solicitor-General
- Elements of those matters are being investigated by the Crime and Corruption Commission
News Corp reported the Premier referred Nikola Stepanov to the Economics and Governance Committee, which oversees her office, weeks after Dr Stepanov raised an allegation of interference by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
The Premier said she was not free to comment about matters "currently under investigation," and there are limits to what she can say under legislation and the standing orders of state parliament.
But Ms Palaszczuk said when the matters were raised with her, she referred them to the committee under advice from the Solicitor-General.
"I had to act. I did everything right as Premier," she said. "I referred this matter for the committee's consideration and what they do with that is a matter for the committee."
She also said she couldn't say who brought the matters in the referral to her attention, saying it was "irrelevant".
Dr Stepanov was approached for comment. She resigned from the role last month and will finish up in June.
In recent weeks, Dr Stepanov has called for the integrity commission to be separated from the PSC, which oversees her office, in order to have more independence — a call backed by the CCC and recommended in a review of the office by former bureaucrat Kevin Yearbury.
It follows allegations raised in parliament last year that the PSC interfered with the office of the Integrity Commission by confiscating a laptop from the QIC office and wiping data.
The Premier's office said on Sunday she was not aware of the interference allegations before referring Dr Stepanov to the committee.
Ms Palasczauk said "certain matters" relating to the complaint had been referred to the Crime and Corruption Commission, and she wasn't able to comment further.
The CCC declined to comment when approached by the ABC.
Ms Palaszczuk said News Corp's reporting was based on "selective reports from letters."
"There is a matter before the committee, and I can't comment on the committee. You'll have to talk to the committee about that, it would be a contempt of parliament," she said.
PSC refers 'serious allegations'
In a statement on Sunday, Robert Setter, chief executive of the Public Service Commission (PSC), denied the PSC had seized anything from the Integrity Commissioner's office.
"At no time did the Public Service Commission 'raid' the offices of the Integrity Commissioner. At no time did the Public Service Commission 'seize' anything from the Integrity Commissioner. A laptop was provided to the CCC at their request," he said.
He said his role was to promote integrity and uphold the highest standards of conduct for the public service, and the PSC had referred "very serious allegations" concerning the QIC to the CCC.
"Very serious allegations were raised in the form of written complaints from current and former staff to the Public Service Commission about the conduct of the Queensland Integrity Commissioner and members of the office of the Integrity Commissioner," he said.
He said PSC employees have been assigned to work with the state's Integrity Commissioner since 2004 — and while the PSC holds ultimate accountability for those employees, "day to day decisions, including work allocation" are handled by the Integrity Commissioner.
Ms Palaszczuk said she "never, never, never" wanted Dr Stepanov removed from her position.
"I absolutely had faith in the job that she was doing. But when there are matters that come to my attention, I had to refer them, and I did that."
For weeks, the Queensland government has been dogged by calls for an integrity inquiry amid allegations from former public servants about integrity concerns.
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said nothing short of a royal commission-style enquiry was good enough.
"This is damning for the Premier, it's damning for the government, but it's also bad for Queensland, and as proud Queenslanders we should all be concerned about this," he said.
"If you believe in good government, and if you believe in the future of this state, the Premier will call a royal commission and she'll call it today.
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2022-02-13 08:11:18Z
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