Pressure is mounting on Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to reveal what her involvement was in the events before and after the raid on the Integrity Commissioner’s office.
The Premier claims she first became aware a laptop was seized and wiped of potentially explosive evidence of illegal lobbying when she read media reports in September.
But the Premier’s diary reveals key meetings with her most senior government official took place months earlier as the biggest integrity scandal in three decades unfolded.
The Premier’s 2021 diary shows:
- MEETINGS: 9, 10 and 11 March – The Premier meets with her Director-General Dave Stewart on three occasions over three days.
- RAID: 12 March – The Public Service Commission raids Integrity Commissioner Dr Nikola Stepanov’s office and seizes a laptop. The contents are wiped.
- COMPLAINT: 6 April – Dr Stepanov makes a formal complaint to the Premier’s Director-General about the raid on her office. Director-General commissions an investigation by consultancy firm McGrathNicol.
- MEETINGS: 20 and 21 April – The Premier meets with her Director-General on two occasions over two days.
- REFERRAL: 22 April – The Premier refers Dr Stepanov to an internal Parliamentary Committee over historic allegations of “misconduct” which are later dismissed.
- MEETINGS AND INVESTIGATION: 18 May – McGrathNicol returns report to Director-General recommending Dr Stepanov’s complaint be referred to the Crime and Corruption Commission for investigation.The Premier meets with her Director-General on the same day.
Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli said the Premier must explain what she really knew about the laptop raid when she referred Ms Stepanov to the Committee.
“It beggars belief that the serious matters raised by Dr Stepanov with the Premier’s Director-General would not have been raised with her before September,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“If those matters were not raised at those meetings, then the Premier needs to answer why her most senior inner sanctum doesn’t trust her.
“There is nowhere to hide.
“The evidence in her diary speaks for itself.
“The Premier must tell Queenslanders the truth.”
To stay up to date follow my Facebook page: TrevorWattsMP
