Statement by Jarrod Bleijie, Deputy Opposition Leader
This is laughable, if this is the Premier’s version of reforming how Labor lobbyists interact with the Palaszczuk Government.
The Premier should at least pretend to wet the lettuce before waving it around.
Clearly the Premier sees this as a political issue not an integrity issue.
This is window dressing.
What’s actually changed? A few people have to change their email signatures.
Real reform would deal with things like:
1. Labor lobbyists operating out of taxpayer funded buildings running the Labor Party’s election campaign.
2. Labor lobbyists being given favourable access to the Palaszczuk Government in return for electoral success.
3. Labor lobbyists winning positive outcomes for clients at a disproportionate rate.
4. Labor lobbyists being paid taxpayers’ money by Government Owned Corporations and then donating to the Labor party.
5. The close personal and professional ties between lobbyists and the Palaszczuk Government.
6. The huge amounts of money pouring from Labor lobbyists into the pockets of the Labor Party.
The Premier has a habit of updating Ministerial Codes but never enforcing them.
We all know the Premier announcing this one week after the CCC announced it was focusing on links between the Palaszczuk Government and Labor lobbyists, and just one day before the Coaldrake Review is made public, is nothing more than an attempt by the Premier to look like she’s doing something instead of actually doing something.
The Premier doesn’t want to take real action because Labor lobbyists donate to her Labor Party. Simple.
Integrity is dead in Queensland and clearly the Premier has no interest or is incapable of reviving it.
This is why we need a full Royal Commission into the Integrity Crisis burning through the Palaszczuk Government.
Queenslanders deserve a government that cares about integrity, not one that spends every day running from it.
