Queensland Parliament 2014

Parliament under Newman 2014 review

APPN/ website paper

Previous issues :

role of Speaker - any new restrictions

continuing benefit of televising

increasing skill of opposition in using numbers compared to 2012-13

continuing prominence of independents and additions by defection

abuse of committee system when urgency and secrecy needed introduction of late changes either in late sittings or after committee reported

unilateral decisions on bypassing committee stage for small scale changes

misuse of emergency provisions

eg, workers compensation scheme avoiding scrutiny from industry and unions

IMPACT OF REDCLIFFE AND STAFFORD

apologies and “operation boring”

disappearance of AG

sudden media prominence of other ministers

CMC replacement by consultation, overturning previous position

then use of fait accompli strategy, take it or leave it

Headings from APPN 2013 paper :

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HIGH COURT DECISION ENDS WAR AGAINST UNIONS

pursuit of Annastacia by Ethics Committee re job losses

WAR AGAINST BIKIES AND HIGH COURT HEARINGS

minor concessions after Stafford on jump-suits and solitary

disappearance of military supervisor of specialised task force

WAR AGAINST PARTIES

update on prosecutions/publicity

WAR AGAINST SEX OFFENDERS

continuing use of strategies to remain in detentioncourt case for re-arrest thrown out because of probable perjury

WAR AGAINST THE ENVIRONMENT

Sibelco

Quarrying legal changes to protect LNP Quarrier from prosecution, including amnesty for previous offence

Reef - latter-day conversion to on-land spoil dumping from dredging

continuing weakness of controls

Both levels of government love coal

WAR AGAINST CCC/CMC

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prosecution of Levy unresolved, but long period of acting

post Stafford agreement to bipartisanship explicitly rejected earlier

then redefined as present ALP with well-publicised take-it-or-leave it

WAR AGAINST JUDICIARY AND SEPARATION OF POWERS

saga of appointment of chief justice

police powers expansion and arming for G20 at end of year

ABUSE OF ESTIMATES PROCEDURES

article by Ann

then retreat tin future o full range of estimates sitting days as part of “operation boring”

Recommendation from 2013 article review:This report reviewed the operation of the institution of Parliament between the election of the Newman Government and the end of 2013. The underlying proposition is that continuities exist between the treatment of Parliament under the Bjelke-Petersen regime of the 1980’s and recent events. There seems to have been a weakening of commitment to the reforms put in place after the Fitzgerald Report in 1989. This weakening of

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accountability has been seen in the tendency to bypass the committee processes, to introduce partisanship into key appointments, to use legislative mechanisms to silence the most potent extra-parliamentary critics of the government and to use a range of legislative measures which undermine civil liberties suchas freedom of association and an entitlement to a presumption of innocence and also threaten the independence of the judiciary.

Six policy recommendations flow from this analysis :

the need to require bipartisan support before declarations of emergency or urgency can be used to circumvent normal committee deliberations;

the need for bipartisan support and transparency to ensure appropriately qualified appointments are made to the CMC and similar transparency and consultations with professional bodies inmaking other senior judicial appointments;

the need to implement the legislative requirements enshrined in adoption of the Fitzgerald Report recommendations concerning appointments to the Parliamentary Committee on the Crime and Misconduct Commission;

the repeal of legislation designed to inhibit the capacity of the union movement to act as an extra-parliamentary critic;

the repeal of legislation such as VLAD which undermines civil liberties and also the independence of the judiciary.

Parliament has the capacity to play an active role in the analysis and formulation of public policy and this role should notbe endangered by restrictions on the financial resources availableto the staff supporting the Speaker in promoting this role. It remains a central cog in the machinery of representative democracy.

CONCLUSIONS AND COMPARISONS (ASPG 2014)

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Twomey’s final remarks could equally apply to the attempts to muzzle the trade union movement in Queensland. Twomey concluded that “the regulation of campaign finance laws is fraught with bothconstitutional and practical difficulty. This is not, however, anexcuse for doing nothing. Reforms that are carefully considered and clearly aimed at legitimate ends such as preventing or reducing the risk of corruption, will be valid. The real difficulty lies in ensuring the laws are made for these purposes alone and not manipulated to the advantage either of particular political parties, or to the benefit of parties generally over theability of third parties to have their say in political debate.. Laws of these kind have been struck down twice by the High Court. That ought to be a clear warning about how such laws should be framed in the future.”

MEASURED AND RESPECTFUL PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE?

The lessons for Queenslanders were particularly pointed in the contribution of David Blunt, Clerk of the NSW Parliaments. In a paper entitled “parliamentary speech and the location of decision making” (hot link), Blunt examined some of the reasons why the upper house (PR-elected) Legislative Council could conduct itself in a demonstrably sensible manner. The contrast with the vindictive and arrogant behaviour of a government with a vast majority in a unicameral Queensland parliament did not need to be pointed out by an author who is scrupulously conscious of his non-partisan role.

He started with a perceptive theoretical framework analysing the ideal -type of deliberative democracy and noted that “democratic legitimacy rests on authentic deliberation’ and that such deliberation depended in turn on both institutional and behavioural factors. A key source of tension existed between an executive model which focussed on stability and efficiency and a liberal model which required governments to justify their actions - about the appropriateness of legislation, the expediency of government policy and accountability for administrative actions.

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After examining a series of case studies drawn from the NSW Upper House, Blunt then identifies the purposes of parliamentary speeches which include:(a) seeking to influence public opinion, particularly through traditional media reporting or circulation of speeches on social media;(b) encouraging party supporters by reflecting and espousing theirview;(c) party leaders encouraging, rousing or reassuring backbenchers; (d) ambitious members seeking to impress party colleagues with a view to influencing future decisions about positions to be allocated or even future leadership; and (e) influencing pre-selectors

These purposes were pursued in the context of a chamber where the Premier did not have a reliable permanent majority and a committeesystem where a wide range of opinions could be offered on any particular issue. Outside the chamber, there were opportunities for internal party debate. This contrasts starkly with Queensland where the attitudes as well as the institutional realities of an overwhelming majority stifled real debate in any forum and the committee system in which Blunt places great confidence has been perverted.

This contrast also extended to the nature of speech and behavioural norms, including governments resisting the temptation to use the gag on discussion except as a last resort and the consistency and non-partisanship of adjudication by the Chair. AsBlunt remarks “Other conventions, such as that prior to speaking in debate members should be in the chamber to listen to the contribution of the preceding speaker, so as to be able to respond to that speech,and the following speaker, so as to listen to any responses to their speech, are premised upon parliamentary debate being dynamicand deliberative…the existence of written Standing Orders and long-standing conventions is nor sufficient, on its own, to ensurethat debate is conducted in a proper manner.”

Blunt’s four conclusions are optimistic about the future of parliamentary debate in the NSW context, believing that it continues to fulfil critical functions even in chambers where parties have fixed positions and little incentive to move. One reason for this is “the existence and long-standing rules and

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conventions which provide a framework for measured and respectful parliamentary debate…such an environment does not arise by accident, though, and its maintenance requires the commitment and vigilance on the part of all participants and their leaders”.

Words like “measured and respectful parliamentary debate” belong in a different universe from that inhabited by Queensland politicians.

DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE (RAW DATA)War against unions

BT article on unions forced to give 24 hour notice of inspections

CM Feb 15 Together Union circumvents access to campaigning funds

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BT Feb 16 AG orders investigation of Together union

CT Feb 24 Union involvements in Redlciffe – headline was abuse Mrs Newman

CM March 4 Newman Billboard stoush with ETU is about silencing critics

BT may 26 ETU in court over disclosure breachesBT may 27 ETU says it complied with disclosure law

BT Aug 13 United Voice worker suspended for airing prisonsafety concerns related to over-crowding

BT Aug 19 power companies want cultural diversity leave removed from ETU agreement

New Battleground : War against Doctors

CM 21 Feb AMAQ boss Christian Rowan sidelined for siding with Premier

(link with Flegg pre-selection and past history as LNP candidate)

BT 27 Feb Doctors Chief gagged over contracts (Rowan)

CM April 3 Newman hires interstate replacement firm for doctors

BT May 13 dismissal of Chris Davis as assistant minister

CM May 10 no love lost for rogue LNP opposing health reforms

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BT September 23 No further CCC investigation of doctors

War against bikies :VLAD laws and judiciary

Courier Mail coverage : Premier provokes outrage by calling bikie lawers “part of a criminal machine”

CM Feb 11 impact of bikie laws could cost LNP seats

CM Feb 21 Bikie lawyer to sue Premier

CM 24 Feb Brennan on Joh echoes in relationship with judiciary

CM Feb 24 State Govt puts bikies in same category as pedophiles under tough new laws l

CM march 22 A G may split Q’s Court of Appeal (to sideline judge)

BT march 24 Bleijie defends leaking confidential chat to judge

BT march 27 Newman and Bleijie a pair of schoolyard bullies (Madonna King)

ABC 13 june 2014 legal figures question Carmody appointment

CM 11 July gallery owner may lose contract due to contact with bikies

BT July 11 – Newman hits at media hyprocrisy over appeals and comments by judiciary

BT July 25 – “sorry time is over” commitment to improved relationswith judiciary

Misuse 0f “line in the sand” metaphor as peacemaking notaggressive

CONVERSATION 25 March Appleby on politicizing advice – Sofronoffcritique

ABC August 1 – High Court judges snub Carmody

BT August 4 Fitzgerald believes Newman will tone down criticism and hope public will forget

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CM August 4 Tony Morris makes personal attack on Fitzgerald

CM Aug 7 Govt appoints supreme court judge to Q Law Reform Commission

ABC Aug 14 Tony Morris offers Bleijie radical plan to detain sex offenders indefinitely

Seen as bid to ingratiate himself with AG for promotion

APO 18 August academic review of Carmody and merit principle in Queensland

Law and Order (and Liquor Industry)

ABC Jan 2014 Tougher penalties for alcohol fuelled violence – Premier asks for feedback

CM april 3 – Police Union criticize failure of govt to act on drinking hours

BT may 8 – penalties for wide range of offences + boot camp

BT Aug 6 – govt to seek professional drinks buyer to testobedience to new drinking laws

BT Aug 13 Bryce task force appointed without consultationwith opposition to gain Newman credibility after ignoringthis issue in general law-order “war”

BT Aug 20 More licensed venue to open past midnight, ending ALP moratorium – Newman won’t punish the majority because of bad behavior of few

BT Aug26 Stuckey;s bill boosts police powers at major events

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BT Oct 16 Bleijie keeps consensual sex crimes on record – low priority

SCD Oct 31 Newman Daniel’s Law may not be right for Qld

Service Cuts

Guardian 20 Feb Abbott cuts and flow on to Queensland hurt indigenous children

BTAug 19 impact of TAFE cuts on youth unemployment

BT Aug 25 Muscat revelations on prison overcrowding due to cuts (cross ref union war)

The War over Public Relations

Post Redcliffe – change of tone – operation boring

BT 24 Feb – “Newman’s task to turn around angry disillusioned public

CM march 13 – Hinchcliffe unloads on ALP, Dick and says Newman unbeatable under current strategy

CM march 24 – Newman review of past twelve months

BTJune 30 – Seeney says Newman pushed too hard, too fast

BT July 1 – Qld govt least trusted in nation

BT march 23 – Newman reminds Ashgrove of what he has delivered to his electorate

BT july 2 – Campbell as caped crusader, (loyalty pledges)

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BT nov 1(2013?) – BT “social media man saves day for Queensland govt”BT BT july 3 Stafford by-election poll – comments from Workcover Protection Cn

BT july 1, 2014 Bleijie accepts no blame for poll slump

ABC july 17 comment on poll due in two days

CM july 21 Newman retreats on some controversial decisionsABC 22 July Newman backs down on estimates, CCC appointment process and isolation for bikies; meet with judges over chief justice appointment process; debt reduction plans to continue

BT july 22 “draw line under back-lash but continues with changes to donation rules and commitment to asset sales

BT Nov 1 : John Birmingham – Mr Strong Choices still thinks you’re stupid

No concessions on assert sales and sackings, just window-dressing

CM July 22 Premier’s office comparable to Rudd, alienating support

CM July 23 Strategy of luring back support

BT July 23 MKing on leadership speculationCM July 24 “Operation Boring”

ABC July 23 MattW newman losing PR warABC July 22 Newman rules out switch from AshgroveBT July 23 speech of apology

BT July 31 mis-use of PR guru photo on social media backfires on LNP

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BT Aug 8 parliamentary language and word games, Dorothy dixers

BT Aug 18 opinion poll shows AnP a viable alternative

BT Aug 26 Leaked briefing tells MP’s to spruik uniform message

BT Aug 27 Dorothy Dix rehearsed answers

BT Aug 28 govt unable to put figure on PR costs

BT Sept 11 Fitzgerald slam populism of cynical political class

BT Sept 12 Newman now and zen (polls improving – boring to serene)

BT Oct 16 Cracks in façade – Police Union links with dissident independents

BT Oct 15 Nicholls undermining Newman – Police Union

BT Oct 29 MKing – operation boring leading to surprise comeback

BT Oct 29 LNP says its “digging up some doozies” on ALP

War against watchdog CMC

CT april 2 - Former CMC Boss (Needham) pans watchdog changes

CT May 8 - legislative changes by Bleijie to create CCC

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BT May 1 – CMC changes get green light from government

Guardian June 29 – Fitzgerald on abuse of power by Qld govt

ABC July 1 – CCC takes effect, including removing bipartisanship in apt

BT and ABC – Stewart on continuing corruption but improvement

Seeney to meet Fitzgerald

ABC 23 July Newman reinstates bi-partisan appointment process, calls on ALP to be sensible

ABC Aug 5 McKean threatened with legal action for publishing his submission to the Parlt cttee on legal affairs and community safety

ABC Oct 28 Parlt Cttee rejects CCC headship nominee of government

CM Oct 28 CCC head rejected after pre-publicity by govt (and CM)

War against the environment

CONVERSATION 13 december 2013 change in planning laws to eliminate concern over rising sea levels (Norman, UC)

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BT may 6 – Qcoal worker developing LNP green policies

BT may 12 – Premier “all but rules out” mining tax

BT may 9 - Gallilee finance approval – link to jobs, reef

Guardian 10 June popularity of solar in poorest suburbs despite min critique

ABC June 23 Karreman Quarries given legal protection

BT July 2 Queensland lifts uranium ban, broken promise, reef fears

ABC 26 June Accusations that newman pressured CMC over gas project approvals

IA Aug 20 LNP’s dodgy deals of donations for legislative changes

ABC Sept 10 committee changes limits access for complaints about mining

ABC Sept 12 rural resistance to new complaints procedure limitation

War against estate agents

BT may 6 controversial price guide ban

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War against parliamentary dissidents

See Davies

BT November 13, 2012 Lobbyist son sidelined as sacked adviser criticises Flegg

BT Aug 14, 2014 CMC tightlipped about Driscoll and Flegg tapes

BT Oct 17 CCC refers Driscoll to police

BT Oct 10 CCC clears Flegg after three years

BT Oct 16 Cracks in façade – Police Union links with dissident independents

ABC 16 Oct linkage of minor parties, independents against asset sales

War on question time

Resistance to giving direct answers

Maximization of Dorothy dixers with support of Speaker

Newman use of mental health records to criticize ALP member

Sunshine Coast Daily – 8 Oct Wellington on question time

BT October 14 But and thrust of dueling politics in question time

BT Oct 17 No nixing of dorothy dixerss

War on unemployment and commitment to growth

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CM july 4 AnP focus on identifying growth, criticizes unemployment figureCM july 2 Seeney criticisms

CM aug 7 Rising unemployment putting target beyond reach– dependence on asset sales and infrastructure investmentBT aug 7 unemployment reaches 11 year high

BT Aug 14 jobs could be the issue that dogs Newman

WAR against the regions?

Discussion of impact of service cuts by dissident LNP

FOLLY OF NEWMAN GOVERNMENT CUTS EXPOSED BY ONE OF ITS OWN

The Newman Government’s folly in abolishing its QBuild building and maintenance group, especially in regional areas, has been exposed by one of its own leading backbenchers says Shadow Construction and Public Works Minister, Bill Byrne.

“When the Newman Government slashed hundreds of jobs fromQBuild and forced its merger with Project Services in 2012 he claimed the scrapping of this successful arm of government would result in greater efficiency and more work being performed by local contractors,” said Mr Byrne.

“Well that fable has been well and truly exposed by his colleague, the Member for Gregory, Vaughan Johnson, who yesterday told Parliament of the disastrous impact of that foolhardy decision on his community.

“As he is standing down at the next election, Mr Johnson obviously feels free to tell it how he sees it.

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“Mr Johnson has been honest enough to admit that local tradespeople in Gregory are missing out on building contracts, businesses are going bust and families are leaving local communities because they can’t compete withoutside contractors who bring their own materials and supplies and are strangling local commerce.

“It is clear from his comments that Mr Johnson believes the decision to downgrade QBuild has had severe negative consequences for remote and rural communities.

“To quote from the Hansard record of Mr Johnson’s speech:‘I appeal to Minister Tim Mander and other government ministers to take note of the situation.’

“ He went on: ‘Since QBuild went off the radar, a lot of these contracts are now being awarded to outside people. I appeal to the ministers in question, especially the housing minister, to make certain that this flow is stemmed and that the local people become the sole operators for these contracts. We are losing families. Weare losing businesses. We are losing people left, right and centre from the west.’

“The Member for Gregory is making a heartfelt plea to hisown government because he knows that the LNP’s stubborn and simplistic ideological trust in market forces and competition is causing immense damage to his electorate.

“His concerns reflect those the Labor Party expressed at the time QBuild was being demolished.

“Mr Johnson describes the current situation as totally unfair and he knows the government of which he is a member is to blame.”

QBuild was originally established to deliver building maintenance and construction services to Queensland Government agencies and provide support relief in the wake of natural disasters and major incidents.

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When the Newman Government took office there were 3,169 employees in QBuild and Project Services. Those agencies were merged into the new Building Asset Services which now has 1174 staff – a cut of almost 2,000 jobs.

Media contact: 0448 994 172 - get original hansard?

War on Estimates

ESTIMATES – FARCE IN TWO ACTS

BT April 3 accusation of winding back Fitzgerald in estimates changes

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ABC 15 July Estimates used to get information relating topayroll information released about Satffrd by-election candidate;

Defence by Langbroek of collapsed process

BTJuly 14 key items expected to be discussed – boot camps, infrastructure

BT July 17 estimates – Newman puts focus on Labor

BT July 18 voices break but critics decry budget estimates hearings

RESEARCH REPORT NO 6

A Farce in Two Acts: Estimates Hearings

Adjunct Professor Ann Scott, PSM, QPSM, PhD Research Coordinator, T JRyan Foundation

In 2004 I retired from my position as Director, Office of the Commissioner, Queensland

plained by the London Metropolitan Police Federation: ‘ Holding the Office of Constable the police officer executes their duty independently without fear or favour. With the Office of Constable comes personal accountability and responsibility for the protection of life and property, the prevention and detection of crime, the maintenance of law and order and the detection and prosecution of offenders. Police officers must be allowed to police using commonsense, free from political preference and political targets.’ https:// www.metfed.org.uk/support/uploads/1214552596Office%20Constable.pdf.

A Farce in Two Acts: Estimates Hearings! 4/8

In the interests of open and accountable Government, and the proper independenceof the Police Department, a register should be kept of policy directions given by the Minister tothe Commissioner; and recommendations provided by the Commissioner to the

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Minister. ... The register would be tabled in Parliament annually by referral through the Chairman of the Criminal Justice Commission to the Criminal Justice Committee.

Peter Wellington asked a question about police priorities, and what distance was maintained between the government and the policeon operational matters. The Commissioner replied that there are norecent entries in this Register, which implies that it still exists. After the fiasco when the Newman Government reconstituted the Parliamentary Criminal Justice Committee (to undermine its independence), and then the Crime and Misconduct Commission to become the Crime and Corruption Commission, this important safeguard may have been lost, or conveniently forgotten.

True, the actual operations against OCMGs have been effective and the police have done a good job in targeting these particular groups. But the police themselves said that the problems on the Gold Coast only emerged as a serious issue in 2011. OCMGs are onlyone component of organised crime, albeit a highly visible one. Anyone with any knowledge of the alcohol prohibition era in the United States will know that the battle against the scourge of illicit drugs is not one that will be easily controlled, and probably never ‘won’. And crime gangs have become globalised, witha far wider reach than in the prohibition days.

Don’t dumb us down by withholding the long-term trends. We need tosee these long term trends in all the crime categories that used to be covered by the Annual Statistic Review with full explanations by the police statisticians. Some crimes have dropped, others will spike when cases eventually come to court after the police crackdown. We need to see the full picture - and have it honestly explained by professionals (and subject to verification by other experts).

Police issues dominated Thursday’s hearings, because the Dorothy Dix questions focussed mainly on eliciting good news stories aboutcrime in specific electorates. But we heard briefly from the Commissioner for Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, and were subjected to a long statement (in strategic planning gobbledygook)from the head of the new Public Safety Business Agency, an agency which is entering into territory in which many have stumbled before - amalgamating payroll IT systems - this time across the emergency services, at a projected cost over three years of $100m.It is a pity there were no questions about that expenditure.

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What was achieved by this new charade that we call the Estimates Committee hearings? Plenty of rhetoric, a fair amount of ducking an weaving, but little accountability. Apart from the ‘good news’ stories written into Hansard, who is the intended audience? The public? The people attending? We heard no direct answers where it mattered. And the cost of only one of the multiple hearings takingplace on each day can only be imagined. Consider the 40 people whoattended on the Police and Emergency Services hearing:

The scene: a small committee room in Parliament House. Dramatis personae (around40 people):

Facing the audience: eight committee members (+ PUP member Carl Judge);Stage right and left: committee staff and Hansard staff;Facing the committee) Police Minister the Hon Jack Dempsey flanked by the PoliceCommissioner and the

other emergency services senior officers;


In the two rows behind the Minister, about 20 other senior officers / public servants; a smattering of ! journalists; one member of the public (me).

The combined salaries for the day? The cost of preparations, including preparing the extensive briefing folders and conducting ‘rehearsals’ with the Ministers? The hours in which senior officers had to be taken off line to act their roles?

The officers who had to be present ‘in case’ a question required their expertise to answer sat in the back row, reading their iPads, ‘tweeting’, and watching the clock. Some were not called upon to speak. No-one seemed interested in asking a question aboutthe G20, for example. It was a long day.

Theatre of the Absurd

On Tuesday the Attorney-General’s portfolio was under scrutiny. Proceedings this day were more like a play in the ‘Theatre of the Absurd’ - a theatrical genre described as:

Plays that take the form of man’s reaction to a world apparently without meaningor man as a puppet controlled or menaced by an invisible outside force ... characters caught in hopeless situations forced to do repetitive or meaningless actions; dialogue full of cliches, wordplay, and nonsense; plots that are cyclical or absurdly expansive.

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‘The LNP has saved Queensland from ‘ALP Havoc and Chaos’, proclaimed Jarrod Bleijie.

Truly? Well, at least this resounding self-congratulatory rhetoricby the Attorney-General woke us up at the end of a long morning. We had heard that after the ‘revolving door’ detention centres rununder the ALP, the LNP’s new boot camps had a ’90+ percent successrate in keeping young people out of the criminal justice system. A28-day residential program followed by a six-12 month mentoring program had provided participants with the employment skills and attitudes to keep them on the straight and narrow. Cynics might wish for some hard evidence to support this assertion. Again - long term trends are more instructive than a single year’s figures.

There had been some close questioning (again by the Member for Rockhampton) about the awarding of a contract to run a ‘boot camp’to the organisation that came tenth in the department’s recommended list to the Attorney-General. ‘Justice director-general John Sosso was forced to admit that courts were given the power to sentence juvenile offenders to boot camps while none wereoperating, labelling it an "impossible" situation. ... Mr Sosso said he considered the selection process to be "suboptimal". http:/www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/campbell-newman-unscathed-in-estimates- hearings-20140715-ztfu8.html

Other interesting or revelatory moments? There was a strange ‘blame game’ monologue from the Attorney-General about the Home Insulation Program and dark references to exchanges between the former Queensland Attorney-General Cameron Dick and the Commonwealth’s then Environment Minister, Peter Garrett. Jarrod Bleijie, wearing his hat as Minister responsible for Fair Trading,explained the problems of electrical safety switches - saying thatolder Queensland houses often did not have a safety switch for each electrical circuit. We were left wondering whether trip switches could have prevented the three fatalities and the fires? We had heard a lot about the dangers of nailing tinfoil around power cords, rather less about safety switches. Who should we blame for these poorly wired older houses? Invoking Peter Garrett was irrelevant to the Queensland


Estimates. And why Cameron Dick? Was this a prelude to another dirt-throwing campaign by the LNP?

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Unlike Thursday, there were no uniforms, medals or braid at this hearing. Staffers around me came in with the obligatory folders. They muttered about a long, boring day ahead. They were not wrong.However, compared with my own days as a staffer, they also carriedin take-away coffees (a bit of spillage under the seats given the crowded conditions), iPads and mobile phones. Some proof-read cabinet submissions while others followed the Twitter feeds about the imminent verdict in the Baden-Clay trial.

The Attorney-General fielded most of the questions giving folksy home-spun answers, or listing programs planned, and throwing out the occasional gratuitous swipe at the ALP. We heard that JPs weregoing to have some of their costs (stamps) refunded and now sported special shirts - and that their training had been outsourced to private providers so that public servants could be put on ‘frontline services’ (we did not hear which bit of the front line they had been posted to).

The committee members were probably as bored as the staffers - theonly real engagement came from the Member for Rockhampton, Bill Byrne, who doggedly pursued the question about boot camp contracts. Independent Peter Wellington also did his best, barely concealing his contempt for the new format, and ‘tweeted’ his disapproval at the dominance of Dorothy Dix questions as proceedings dragged on.

He was not the only one who watched the clock and communicated with the outside world as the cliches and pollie-speak kept rolling off the tongue of the Attorney-General. But for those who listened, it was another reminder of Nineteen Eighty-Four and the description of the ‘principles of the B vocabulary’ in ‘Newspeak’:

Countless ... words such as honour, justice, morality, internationalism, democracy, science and religion had simply ceased to exist. A few blanket words covered them, and, in covering them, abolished them. All words grouping themselves round the concepts of liberty and equality, for instance, were contained in the single word crimethink, while all words grouping themselves round the concepts of objectivity and rationalism were contained in the single word oldthink.

Review of the LNP’s Estimates trial

Queensland Estimates hearings have always been highly stage-managed and resource- intensive, but the LNP seems to have descended to a new low in political rhetoric and evasiveness.

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The Police and Emergency Services hearings would at least have been of value if the information available had been more transparent. The Estimates hearings ought to be redesigned to encourage proper scrutiny. This should include redesigning the Service Delivery Statements to incorporate more transparent information, particularly including long-term trend lines, or, in the case of the Queensland Police Service, incorporating the previous year’s Annual Statistical Review.

The LNP version of Estimates is incomparably worse than its predecessor because of the imbalance between government and opposition members within each committee and the fact that the opposition, minor parties, and the media have to be so sparsely spread across the various hearings. Mr Ian Berry MP, Member for Ipswich, chaired both days of the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee hearings. Apparently after the Tuesday


hearings he had been criticised for unduly favouring the government questions. At the end of Thursday he announced that he had counted the time allocation from Tuesday, and had proved this to be an ill-founded criticism. He chaired the proceedings efficiently and fairly, but the impression remained that the timesallotted to Dorothy Dix answers far outweighed those afforded the genuine questions - probably because the answers seemed to drag interminably on.

The $$ cost of running this accountability charade would include not only the proceedings, both during the hearings itself and in their preparation: all those dreadful ‘rehearsals’ with the Minister; wordsmiths preparing the briefing folders; and front-line staff providing much of the basic information. Apart from thebenefit to the Minister, the CEO, ministerial staffers and senior executives of having the handy compendium of the department’s activities to use afterwards, it is hard to justify the Estimates in the current format.

Despite the brief insights the observer can glimpse through the fog of rhetoric, it certainly does not amount to robust ‘accountability’. This is the time when the government is expectedto give real answers to probing questions. A great deal of money could be saved by just putting out all the government’s Dorothy Dix briefing notes as press releases. These criticisms, however,

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should be read as an argument for improved Estimates hearings, NOTfor their abolition.

I was generously greeted by Minister Dempsey at the hearings on Thursday because he had asked if any member of the public was actually present, and I was identified as the only one. I was gratified by his friendliness, but I hope that I ended the day with my oldthink intact.

BRISBANE TIMES COMMENTARY FOLLOWS

Queensland Government ministers may have talked until their throats were raw and their voices broke, but the simultaneous estimates hearings trail has failed to impress non-government MPs.For the first time, all seven committees sat at once, over two days.The change meant that some ministers, including Premier Campbell Newman and Treasurer Tim Nicholls, answered questions for more than six hours when previously they had been questioned for three.But Opposition members and their staff were spread thin covering each of the seven committees at the same time and this year, the government's third, its ministers were much more practised at dodging questions they didn't wish to have answered.

AdvertisementWhile no other minister was quite as adept as the Premier who did not hesitate to refer to the standing orders for any question not directly related to government spending, the hearings were notablymundane.The hearings featured long, winding straight-from-the-press-release answers to Dorothy Dixer questions from government MPs andshortened that-is-probably-not-related-to-these-hearings answers to most queries from non-government MPs.Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk, who did not manage to land a proper blow to the government over the two days, labelled the schedule change "shambolic"."We have had seven committees operating at the same time," she said."This is not good for democracy, this is about secrecy."This is about hiding ministers and this trial will never happen again. A future Labor government will reinstate the full seven days of estimates over two weeks."

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Ms Palaszczuk already has a supporter in independent MP Peter Wellington.While he is never shy about criticising the government, he was "outraged" at the hearings process."It's a sham," he said."A total waste of time."...It's an attempt by the government, and I think it has been very effective, to minimise the amount of scrutiny of ministers, director generals and senior departmental officers by having it all on two days, and the evidence speaks for itself."It is a deliberate attempt to stifle scrutiny of this government and if I am able to get re-elected next election, I will join withwhoever else is elected to try and return our estimates system ...where everyone is able to see what ministers and senior departmentstaff are doing and how they are answering questions."But Mr Newman accused detractors of hubris, telling the media he stood by his comments from Wednesday when he said: "I just point out, that contrary to the nonsense that’s been spouted about this,I actually had to answer questions for twice the period of time I did last year, almost twice anyway.""So for six hours I was there to answer questions and it means that there’s much greater scrutiny on the government."So, I know that by the end of yesterday I’d almost lost my voice,so if that’s an indication of the amount of questioning and the answering I had to do I think it’s probably a pretty good one for Queenslanders if they want to get their head around what’s going on."

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/voices-break-and-critics-decry-budget-estimates-hearings-20140718-zuale.html#ixzz3Hlf62iKd

BT Sept 11 Estimates change cost $8000

War on the Public Service

27


WAR ON PUBLIC SERVICE NUMBERS

Brisbane Times (reading list)

1 November coverage

public service news:premier, ministers quizzed at hearingsfire job cuts spark heated hearingCMC slashed amid donations review disputeFeds via Shortern step in to protect public service conditionsNo ads, one candidate in major public service job

Includes Newman promise back in 2012 that cuts were complete

The first 100 days…20,000 job cut would not affect servicesList – job cuts by portfolio

BT may 8 technology ranks in disarray due to CITEC cuts and CEO changes

BT may 15 700 commonwealth public service jobs go in Qld, incl Townville

BT Nov 1 - summary of public service news since state budget

War on Public Assets28


CM may 26 Abbott federal budget removes any option to asset sales

BT June 26 more work needed to make govt accountable – QauditOff

Query over contestability as a solutionBT Dec 4, 2013 - outsourcing not working

QAO

BT JUNE 26 QAO “results speak for themselves” NewmanAlex Scott points to lack of concern for

people

CM Aug 18 Editorial amazed that 75% of Queenslanders won’t accept asset sales when case is self-evident

BT Sept 2 CITEC sale put on hold

CM Sept 17 Power network may be leased not sold

BT Sept 18 Quiggin on sales concealed behind leases – potato…

BT Oct 8 Strong Choices and asset sales give rise to pork barrelling

BT Oct 12 Removal of solar tariff scheme, bigger fiasco than health

ABC 16 Oct linkage of minor parties, independents against asset sales

BT Sept 17 (see above) Nicholls power privatization turnaround

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Integrity and Donations laws

ABC July 21– ALP pledges to reverse donation changes, may replace CCC

BT Aug 24 – Questions over Brisvegas casino tendering

Cross-ref with AI article on donations for legislation reenvironment

BT Oct 14 Donations, advertising eroding public trust

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Queensland Parliament 2014

Documents

Transcript of Queensland Parliament 2014