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Coaldrake report does not "go far enough to restore public faith" in state government

While the Queensland Greens welcome the recommendations in the Coaldrake report, we have deep concerns that these 14 recommendations do not go far enough to overhaul the deep distrust everyday Queenslanders have in the government and public service.

While the Queensland Greens welcome the recommendations in the Coaldrake report, we have deep concerns that these 14 recommendations do not go far enough to overhaul the deep distrust everyday Queenslanders have in the government and public service.

For far too long, the powerful and wealthy have had unprecedented levels of access to the Queensland government.

While strengthening lobbying regulations and codifying the relationship between Ministers and public servants is a step in the right direction, these reforms are a bandaid solution to the systemic levels of corruption and interference in our public service.

Lines attributable to Michael Berkman, Greens MP for Maiwar.

“The recommendations coming out of the Coaldrake review are welcome, but they simply don’t go far enough to restore public faith in a fundamentally broken system.

“If the Premier is truly to stamp out the murky political processes and rot in her government, then the Premier should be banning cash-for-access meetings between her Ministers, her MPs, lobbyists, and corporations.

“If the Premier wants to truly revive the public’s trust in her government, then she would be banning corporate donations and returning the more than $150,000 her party has received from gambling firms like Star and Crown in the last seven years.

“These bandaid reforms may hold off the stench of rot from the Queensland government and public service for now, but everyday people will continue to distrust their government unless we have a wide-ranging commission of inquiry with public hearings.”

“Given only four months to conduct this review behind closed doors, Mr Coaldrake’s findings just reinforce the public’s mistrust of this Government and demonstrate how political interference is corrupting the good work of our public service.

“The extent and seriousness of the issues demands nothing short of a full commission of inquiry into lobbying in Queensland, Ministerial conduct, and corporate influence over government decisions and the public service.”

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