Letter from Annastacia Palaszczuk, QLD Premier to Accountability Round Table: Commitments to Openness and Transparency

 

ANNASTACIA PALASZCZUK MP PREMIER OF QUEENSLAND AND MINISTER FOR THE ARTS

26th October 2017

Dear Mr Smith

When my Government was elected in 2015 we had made approximately 550 individual election commitments – including a number of specific commitments directly to your organisation.

On 10 August 2017, I made a statement to the Queensland Parliament where I outlined that 87% of those commitments had been delivered (which equates to 484 election commitments delivered, 50 still ongoing or being implemented and 19 superseded following consultation with stakeholders and the results of independent policy reviews).

ft is therefore timely to write directly to your organisation to outline the status of the individual commitments  we made to your organisation in 2015.

Prior to the 2015 election, commitments were provided that a Labor Government would:

      • restore the autonomy of the Speaker in the Parliament
      • reintroduce portfolio Estimates Committees hearings over seven days, ensuring each committee meets on a separate day.
      • require Directors-General, all key public service positions and statutory appointments to be chosen on a merit-based process. Heads of government departments will be required to publicly lodge pecuniary interests forms.
      • restore equal Government and non-Government membership to Parliamentary portfolio committees.
      • commence new recruitment processes immediately for the Chair and CEO of the anti­ corruption watchdog under the new appointment arrangements providing a new independent he Ensure that the CEO is not a commissioned officer under the Act and that there is bipartisan support of the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee (PCCC) for the CEO appointment.
      • legislate to set the political do nation disclosure level to $1000 (from $12,400), retrospective to 21 November 2013
      • limit temporary appointments for the Chair, Commissioners and CEO of the anti­ corruption watchdog to three months, unless there is bipartisan support.
      • enable anonymous complaints to be made to the anti-corruption watchdog by removing the requirement under the Crime and Corruption Act 2001 for complaints to the Crime and Corruption  Commission (CCC) to be by Statutory Declaration
      • amend the Crime and Corruption Act 2001 to reinstate the watchdog’ s critical prevention function and remove the requirement for Ministerial approval for a research plan developed pursuant to the research function. Ensure the prevention function is properly staffed and resourced to undertake this work and ensure the preventive advice extends to local government and universities
      • require bipartisan support for the appointment of a non-government Chair to the parliamentary committee overseeing the anti-corruption

      I am pleased to advise that each of these commitments has been delivered.

      A further commitment- to ensure that the review of the Right to Information Act 2009 has been conducted appropriately, conduct further consultation deemed necessary and then complete the review – is in progress.

      Details on the implementation status of all of the Palaszczuk Government’ s election commitments are provided in the progress report released in August, which is available online at https://www.thepremier.qld.gov.au/newsroom/progress-report-june-2017.aspx

      As well as delivering on its election commitments, the Palaszczuk Government also has had a highly productive legislative program. As at 25 October 2017, 136 of the 137 Government  Bills debated in the Parliament have been successfully passed.

      I trust this information is of assistance. I also wanted to take this opportunity to re-commit to a continued dialogue regarding policy, and I look forward to continuing to work with you and your organisation to build on these commitments into the future.

      Yours sincerely

      ANNASTACIA PALASZCZUK MP PREMIER OF QUEENSLAND AND MINISTER FOR THE ARTS

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