Qld opposition doubles down on laptop

Marty Silk | July 7, 2022

Queensland’s opposition leader is still raising concerns about a laptop after a corruption probe found no wrongdoing over the device.

David Crisafulli has been claiming public servants “raided” Integrity Commissioner Nikola Stepanov’s office and “seized” the laptop before “wiping” it.

A Crime and Corruption Commission probe this week found that the laptop was backed up and reimaged for a new employee and no data had been leaked or lost.

The government has since called for the opposition leader to apologise, but he’s doubled down instead.

“I still want to know what was on that laptop, and I think Queenslanders also want to know,” Mr Crisafulli told reporters on Thursday.

The Liberal National Party leader said he was also concerned about other parts of the CCC report.

The watchdog questioned the “ongoing suitability” of the Department of Premier and Cabinet providing IT services for the Integrity Commissioner.

The CCC pointed out that public service bosses still had control over the staff and budget of the lobbyist watchdog.

Mr Crisafulli said the Integrity Commissioner must be fully “uncoupled” from the government and public service.

The reason Dr Stepanov complained about the laptop with the CCC, he said, was because public service bosses failed to act.

“She was unable to get that matter resolved, so she sought to take it to the CCC and yesterday the premier of this state basically called her a liar,” the opposition leader said.

Treasurer Cameron Dick slammed Mr Crisafulli, accusing him of running a campaign “deceit and dishonesty” about the laptop.

“When he’s caught out misleading the people he won’t apologise,” Mr Dick told reporters. 

“And I think that says volumes about the character of the man and why Queenslanders fundamentally cannot trust him, because if he’s not willing to apologise for misleading the people about this campaign of integrity, then Queenslanders know that they can never trust another word that he says.”

Dr Stepanov finished up on Sunday, with barrister Mark Glen to act in the commissioner role while the government recruits a permanent replacement.

Meanwhile, a senior lobbyist has praised Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk for banning him from seeking to influence her government.

The premier earlier this week barred lobbyists Evan Moorhead, Cameron Milner and David Nelson from lobbying her ministers and public servants before voters go to the polls in 2024.

The move followed a review by Professor Peter Coaldrake, which called for all lobbyists to be banned from working on election campaigns – something Mr Moorhead and Mr Milner did for Ms Palaszczuk and Labor in 2020.

Mr Milner, a former Labor state secretary, praised the premier’s decision to ban him and implement other recommendations from the review.

“Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk should be lauded for committing to implementing the review’s recommendations in their entirety and to the letter,” he wrote in The Australian on Thursday.