Queensland's integrity bodies will be strengthened as part of new laws introduced into parliament today as a result of a landmark review into the public service.
The premier and her government were under pressure earlier this year to launch an independent review after being dogged by a number of integrity allegations about the public service.
Several former and outgoing public servants backed calls for a wide-ranging review including the former Integrity Commissioner.
As a result Professor Peter Coaldrake was asked to review culture and accountability issues in the Queensland public sector and made 14 recommendations to strengthen integrity mechanisms in the state government.
This inquiry – and the recommendations from other reviews — will result in law changes with the first round of reforms.
So what is changing?
Two bills have been introduced, with the first focusing on strengthening the independence of integrity bodies like the Office of the Integrity Commissioner and the Queensland Auditor-General.
The changes will see staff from the Office of the Integrity Commissioner given more independence and will be subject to direction from the Integrity Commissioner.
The Auditor-General and Deputy Auditor-General will now be officers of the parliament which gives them greater control of the resources and budget of the audit office.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told parliament the bill will also strengthen the regulation of lobbyist in Queensland by introducing an offence for unregulated lobbying.
The offence of unregistered lobbying will incur a fine of 200 penalty units which is about $28,750.
It aims to encourage lobbyists to be registered so the public has access to a list of who is lobbying the government in Queensland.
The second bill improves employment security, respect and inclusion in the public sector.
Ms Palaszczuk said more reforms would be introduced in the future.
"There'll be more legislation as we go on including the most revolutionary change in Australia to the release of cabinet documents after 30 days, not 30 years," she said.
"As I said when Professor Coaldrake handed down his report — we embrace it, we're going to implement it, and we've hit the ground running."
Why are the laws being changed and strengthened?
These law reforms are the result of several reviews which have looked at the Queensland public service.
Earlier this year, the Coaldrake review painted a scathing picture of culture with government, saying it is "too tolerant of bullying" and is dominated by "short-term political thinking".
The raft of 14 recommendations included changes to the auditor-general role to make it an Officer of the Parliament and for the independence of integrity bodies to be enhanced by having parliamentary committees set their budgets and be involved in key appointments.
In 2019, Peter Bridgman reviewed Queensland's public employment laws in a review commissioned by Ms Palaszczuk which was called "A Fair and Responsive Public Service for All".
In 2021, Kevin Yearbury was appointed to undertake the five-yearly review of the Office of the Integrity Commissioner with his recommendations including strengthening lobbying regulation in Queensland and giving the Integrity Commissioner greater independence.
The law reforms before parliament today are delivering on some of the recommendations of all of these reviews.
Who is the new Integrity Commissioner?
Today a new permanent Integrity Commissioner has been appointed in Queensland.
The role was previously held by Nikola Stepanov who resigned earlier this year and finished in July.
Dr Stepanov raised concerns about resourcing, staffing and budget issues in her office and backed calls for an independent review into integrity issues in the state government.
Ms Palaszczuk made the announcement in parliament today and said Ms Linda Waugh has been appointed to the role after a national recruitment process.
"Ms Waugh is currently the Merit Protection Commissioner for the Australian Public Service," she said.
"She has prior experience as the Victorian Assistant Ombudsman and the New South Wales Deputy Ombudsmen."
