From kids netball to uranium mining: Top bureaucrats’ other interests This week in our Queensland public sector column, Public Circus details department boss disclosures, overlapping appointments, a bureaucrat only bar, and more.

Also in this week’s edition
- New details in key CFMEU inquiry document timeline
- Appointments pile up for two temporary District Court judges
- And Friday knock-offs, anyone? (So long as you’ve got a government ID)

Read on here:

State Development, Infrastructure and Planning director-general John Sosso and Public Sector Commissioner David Mackie both, until recently, held shares in a uranium mining company with the largest deposits in Qld – despite a politically seesawing ban on their extraction. Sosso still does.

For Public Circus this week, I trawled through directors-general interest declarations.

Along with the expected (Qantas Chairman’s Lounge, investment properties etc), there was also the more left-field (kids netball coordinatorships, shares in uranium mining companies with stakes in Qld projects)

Former workplace safety boss wanted to sack ‘friend of the CFMEU’, but couldn’t Queensland’s former workplace safety regulator boss, Peter McKay, has taken the CFMEU inquiry stand as the probe delves into the union’s alleged capture of the office.

From the CFMEU inquiry today: A former head of Qld's workplace safety regulator wanted to, but couldn't, sack a sidelined employee under corruption watchdog monitoring described as a friend of the union, & whose reinstatement was heavily lobbied for by its now-ousted leaders.

CFMEU turned workplace safety regulator boss into ‘call centre operator’ CFMEU officials had a hotline to the head of Queensland’s workplace safety regulator, bypassing a team responsible for fielding their calls, an inquiry has heard.

CFMEU officials would directly call the head of Queensland’s workplace safety regulator seeking action from inspectors after a key lower-level bureaucrat thought to be leaking information to the union was sidelined, an inquiry has heard.

The Labor figures and government critics in early health board exit lounge This week in our Queensland public sector column, Public Circus dives deeper into health board intrigue, checks in on the audit office, senior job swappers, and more.

Also this week:
- The Severance-esque line used to explain a DG’s job swap into ranks of another dept
- The Information Commissioner’s state AI chatbot cheerleading
- Brain drain warnings and a lacklustre consultant check from the Audit Office

and more! read on here:

After a long-weekend break, Public Circus is back. This week, the second cohort of folks not mentioned by Health Minister Tim Nicholls in his health board overhaul: those out of a gig two years early.

(At least some of whom were sent letters before Easter asking why they shouldn’t be sacked)

icymi over the weekend

Inside the human rights office planning day that left staff in tears One source said half the room walked out after a charity representative with close ties to the new commissioner gave a presentation that contained triggering themes.

You can read it all, here:

I first caught wind of this while reporting out the commission’s unusual decision to not weigh in on a contentious Crisafulli govt bill

In the weeks since, I’ve been working to piece it together. Both the charity rep & Platz have apologised, the latter has also now updated her conflict form.

While external critics have questioned newly minted commissioner Debbie Platz’s actions in the role since starting this year, the incident & its handling have also reinforced concerns of some staff about the leadership and direction of the important independent agency – to the point of speaking out

Accounts shared by staff and others with knowledge of the matter have described insensitive and racist language during a presentation that left some visibly upset

That presentation came from a representative of a charity with close ties to Platz, also raising “red flags” about conflicts of interest

One Monday in March, Queensland Human Rights Commission staff gathered for what was pretty standard office fare: an all-hands planning day to work on tweaks to the agency’s strategic plan under its new boss.

What transpired was anything but.

Stafford MP Jimmy Sullivan found dead after expulsion from party The 44-year-old’s death is being treated by police as non-suspicious, with Premier David Crisafulli offering his condolences to Sullivan’s family.

Tributes and condolences for the family of Jimmy Sullivan today, after the (former Labor) member for Stafford in Brisbane’s north was found dead by police on Thursday night. Story here with Julius Dennis

Peter Dutton appointed to Queensland government board A former state Labor MP has also been appointed to the board.

Former federal opposition leader Peter Dutton has been appointed by the Crisafulli government to the board of Queensland Investment Corporation – via Dominique Tassell

New: Some moves at the top of the Qld public service this week, with what the govt is describing as an exchange seeing Customer Service boss Chris Lamont head off to a (not DG) role in Premier & Cabinet – only the second internal shuffle since roles were cemented.

More here: www.brisbanetimes.co...

LNP donors scored meeting about plans for rival supermarket Internal emails shed new light on the lead-up to a council’s decision to derail a development that would have competed with the Russell Island IGA.

LNP donors who owned and operated an island supermarket discussed its future with a Queensland government MP before the local council dumped plans for a mainland competitor, emails obtained by this masthead show.

Search for ‘crime prevention school’ providers grinds to a halt The Crisafulli LNP government vowed to set up four new or expanded schools for disengaged and at-risk youth. Only the future of its hand-picked Gold Coast site is clear.

Read more:

Also managed to get another detail on the record I’ve been trying to for a while. The provider handpicked by the Crisafulli LNP to run one of the four sites before the election, Men of Business, was also on selection panels for the now-dumped process, according to a source with knowledge of this.

New: After word started trickling in last week, I go my hands on an email which shows the Qld’s Youth Justice Dept pulled the plug on its search for orgs to run a key plank of its election commitments. The govt insists its efforts are ongoing.

Queensland standing between motorists and an extra 8¢ fuel cut The states and territories were told to find a way to cut fuel prices further. One state, Queensland, is holding up the plan.

The Queensland govt is holding out against a further cut to excise rates that would save the nation’s motorists an extra 8¢ a litre on petrol and diesel as Treasurer Jim Chalmers demanded the states solve the impasse “ASAP” – via Shane Wright, James Hall and Daniella White

Staff under review at Fire Department as it hunts for budget savings A leaked email shows Queensland’s fire commissioner told staff his department would continue to “find efficiencies and cost savings”.

New: Leaked email shows Qld's Fire Commissioner told staff the department will continue to “find efficiencies and cost savings” as it joined Transport and Main Roads facing admin staff criticism hiring is being stifled, but govt figures aren't directly responding to claims.

the shift to BWF feels like a bit of tying-up of the QLAs portion of that, for now anyway…

A deluge of doctors join state health boards. But who’s out, and why? This week in our Queensland public sector column, Public Circus dives into the long-awaited public health service overhaul, a familiar reviewer, the (not) hiring freeze and more.

Also inside the tent:
- The close-knit crew of Bleijie’s IR reviewer
- Detail of the (not) hiring freeze deepens
- Education on notice over unpaid award bump
- CS Energy chief out after just 9 months

All the detail from James Hall and I here

This week in Public Circus, a closer look at govt’s health service board overhaul shows some significant departures – & early word of members w terms until 2028 pushed out

But also the resignation of one such director who’d emerged at a fmr Health DG-run consultancy which had won ~$2m from the HHS

A deluge of doctors join state health boards. But who’s out, and why? This week in our Queensland public sector column, Public Circus dives into the long-awaited public health service overhaul, a familiar reviewer, the (not) hiring freeze and more.

Also inside the tent:
- The close-knit crew of Bleijie’s IR reviewer
- Detail of the (not) hiring freeze deepens
- Education on notice over unpaid award bump
- CS Energy chief out after just 9 months

All the detail from James Hall and I here

This week in Public Circus, a closer look at govt’s health service board overhaul shows some significant departures – & early word of members w terms until 2028 pushed out

But also the resignation of one such director who’d emerged at a fmr Health DG-run consultancy which had won ~$2m from the HHS

Brisbane Writers Festival handed literary awards after intervention saga After leaving significant questions over the future of the Queensland Literary Awards earlier this month, Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroek has revealed their new home.

New: Queensland’s signature literary awards will from this year be managed by the Brisbane Writers Festival, after a standoff that led to a high-profile ministerial intervention and the state library being stripped of its role.

Queensland police have warned Brisbane artist James Hillier (aka Nordacious) and are looking into a city mural by Sydney-based Scott Marsh over their use of variations on one of two pro-Palestinian phrases banned under state law this month.

‘From the river to the sea’, and into police sights, for Brisbane artists High-profile artist Nordacious has been told to pull items from his online store under controversial new Queensland laws, as officers eye a mural in the capital.

Read more here. Hillier was opening the art and design store he works at on Brisbane’s north on Wednesday and noticed a missed call from the police. Dialling back, he was told he’d been the subject of a complaint alleging a breach of the laws.