High Court ruling on Carne helps Trad, throws spanner into CCC reports
The High Court has ruled that Queensland’s anti-corruption watchdog cannot publicly air allegations involving a former senior public servant, potentially assisting a similar case brought by the state’s former treasurer Jackie Trad.
The ruling, handed down Wednesday, led to the LNP calling for law changes to keep the public informed about anti-corruption efforts after a court decision blocked the release of a draft investigation report.
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The Govrnment said it was considering the decision.
Opposition justice spokesman Tim Nicholls said the ruling meant important recommendations from the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) would remain hidden unless legislation around parliamentary privilege was amended.
“It will be a dark day for Queensland if (Premier) Annastacia Palaszczuk and Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath turn their back on transparency,” Mr Nicholls said on Wednesday.
Nicholls claimed under the new precedent the public would never have known details about Indigenous man Cameron Doomadgee’s death in police custody on Palm Island or the “Fake Tahitian Prince” who stole millions of dollars from Queensland Health.
“The antiseptic of sunlight will not be shone on the actions of executive government,” Nicholls said.
The CCC was granted leave last year to challenge a Queensland Court of Appeal decision that the commission’s draft report on Peter Carne was not subject to parliamentary privilege and could not be released.
The appeal argued that parliament’s free speech privilege applied to the draft report because it was prepared or presented to the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee in June 2020.
The full bench of the High Court dismissed the appeal with costs.
“The facts do not support a finding that the parliamentary committee elected to keep the (CCC’s) October draft for the purpose of transacting its business,” the court said.
Former Queensland treasurer Jackie Trad is fighting to stop the CCC releasing a report on allegations she intervened in the recruitment of a senior public servant in 2019.
Ms Trad’s case had been adjourned awaiting an outcome in the CCC’s appeal.
Mr Carne was Public Trustee of Queensland from 2009 to 2014, a role that involves holding powers of attorney over citizens who cannot manage their own affairs as well as managing deceased estates and unclaimed money.
The High Court’s judgment noted that in June 2018 the CCC received an anonymous complaint alleging Mr Carne had been involved in corrupt conduct and maladministration.
The CCC started investigating Mr Carne in September 2018 and in April 2020 it wrote to the Acting Public Trustee, making a number of recommendations relating to operating the Public Trust Office.
“The topics to which recommendations were addressed included … the use of corporate credit cards; the taking of leave … the development of policies relating to the taking of external studies; and the development of codes of conduct,” the High Court said.
The CCC advised Mr Carne’s solicitors in April 2020 it was not proposing to bring criminal proceedings against him and he resigned as Public Trustee three months later.
