Peter Coaldrake’s report to Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Let the Sunshine In, is a clear and frank assessment of culture and accountability in the Queensland public sector today. With one exception, it also offers refreshing guidance to jurisdictions across Australia showing signs of complacency about integrity.
First to the important exception: Coaldrake’s proposal that all cabinet submissions and their attachments, all agendas and all decision papers be published online within 30 days of cabinet decisions.
While the report acknowledges some of the risks associated with such a change – including the possible compromising of frank and fearless advice – it claims that New Zealand’s experience with early disclosure has worked well. As it points out, the NZ system explicitly omits:
