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Welcome to Brisbane Times’ Queensland public sector column, Public Circus. This week: the state’s data centre race, halftime estimates tidbits, and a conveniently timed CFMEU inquiry update.
When Premier David Crisafulli trumpeted his government’s pitch for data centre investment to the LNP party faithful last month, it was explicitly energy-agnostic, and he was confident about the cash flowing.
What wasn’t mentioned was that key departmental officials had already met with reps of one such company – which recently tipped $20,000 into party coffers and brought on an ex-conservative premier as a lobbyist.
Viridis Green Data Centres boasts three projects currently under planning or other approval processes in Townsville, Sydney and Tasmania, with managing director Michael Bull recently appearing on ABC Brisbane to tout its green credentials.
In a LinkedIn post summarising the chinwag, Bull said having Viridis sites in regional centres brings upskilling advantages, with the facilities able to be powered by hydrogen, solar or wind, and operate independent of local water sources.
Back in October, donation records show it handing over $20,000 to the LNP for “corporate sponsorship” purposes. Within two days, lobbying records show it engaged Graham Staerk to help its approaches to government.
In March, Viridis also picked up former Nationals premier Rob Borbidge as another government middle-man.
Borbidge – who led the state between 1996 and 1998 – then met with departmental and ministerial staffers under Customer Services and Open Data Minister Steve Minnikin.
What happened at the initial get-together is confidential. A second in early June – now involving deputy director-general for data and digital Mark Howard – was listed as a “briefing on proposal for regional data centres” and a “follow-up meeting from initial discussions with Ministerial office”.
Little more than a week later, a third (again confidential) meeting is listed with the department’s executive director of strategic policy Jay Sindorff and two senior State Development figures.
Among these were then-deputy (now acting) director-general Shaun Ferris and projects and advisory director Rebecca Merretz. Quite the upward trajectory!
Staerk himself gave Circus a call after our approaches to Viridis and Borbidge, insisting the sponsorship was not about chasing government meetings but instead allowed Bull to pitch his business to party figures at the LNP’s November state council meeting at Sea World.
Staerk said he brought in – and paid – Borbidge to make the approach and attend with Viridis figures to “test government appetite for utilising Viridis data centres” as a client, rather than helping get them built.
Circus also put a series of questions to both departments and Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie, whose remit covers economic development, infrastructure and planning.
A generic Crisafulli government spinner wrote back, highlighting the LNP’s energy roadmap and reiterating the state is “open for business”. Related backgrounding stressed no Viridis proposal was under consideration, and development applications were a council matter.
While this may be true, the Crisafulli government has shown it is more than willing to use the levers of Bleijie’s office and the public sector to fast-track or overrule council decisions.
Of course, it’s not just bureaucrats being bombarded with interest from those hoping to house the resource-hungry centres in the state. In May, our Financial Review colleagues noted Crisafulli’s diary showed three meetings with domestic operator Australian Data Centres.
And who else have Australian Data Centres reps, including chief executive Mark Pont, seen twice across April and May? None other than Bleijie’s chief of staff, Nathan Ruhle. Watch this space.
Cripps’ posting, rumour hosing, and YJ explaining: Half-time at estimates
Tuesday sees the second half of this year’s estimates hearings kick off. But Circus wouldn’t be doing our duty without sharing some highlights of week one beyond our already comprehensive news coverage.
One of the first major points of interest was Newman-era minister and more recently handpicked Special Commissioner for Rural and Regional Queensland Andrew Cripps, back for a second Crisafulli LNP appointment after his stint as a State Recovery Co-ordinator last year.
While there was some scrutiny around his early use of a Hotmail account to field the immediate cascade of correspondence his way on appointment to the plum gig in April, all was promised to have been above board – along with his role with a consulting firm Front Row Advisory.
What intrigued Circus more was that the man on a reported salary of $392,000 with three full-time staff is still having the exact nature of his work mapped out.
That doesn’t appear to worry Cripps, though, who has been diligently posting through his posting, with no shortage of official-looking engagements shared on social media.
These are interspersed with a series of backyard snaps toasting various cold ones to his freshly shorn lawn, noting dive-bombing plovers high on the list of “great perils” those in the north face.
There are also links to opinion pieces in the North Queensland Register, including a recent one decrying the government regulation standing in the way of Nationals leader Matt Canavan’s “Hyper Australia” vision.
Elsewhere across the hearings, Economic Development Queensland chief executive Julian Simmonds hosed down questions he was trying to get in Ruhle’s ear, again, for the State Development director-general job widely tipped to go to Public Sector Commissioner David Mackie.
(Mackie’s gift register, Circus should note, now features a listing “for transparency” of the $887 in in-kind “celebrant services” provided by Bleijie in a personal capacity at his April wedding.)
Another curiosity? Newly minted Youth Justice director-general Michael Drane appearing to change tune while giving the most detailed official explanation of the odd crime prevention school procurement process to-date.
Drane told a hearing on Friday that the selection of three providers to run the sites not featuring an election campaign-committed organisation was “always intended to be a two-stage process”.
“So the department concluded the first stage of that open tender process, and then went to a select negotiation with successful applicants from round one,” he said.
How this gels with the internal message back in April that the process was being dumped because the election promise was not going to be able to be delivered within the necessary timeframes or $50 million budget, we’re unsure.
The sprawling health portfolio will be first in the hot seat on Tuesday morning. Top of the popcorn list, however, is likely to be the after-dark session of under-pressure Minister for Families, Seniors and Disability Services and Minister for Child Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Amanda Camm on Thursday.
Now $95-million CFMEU probe’s conveniently timed progress report
Last Tuesday saw a gaggle of government ministers front media to reveal the more-than-doubled-in-length CFMEU inquiry’s initial $20 million budget had almost quadrupled to $95 million.
Outside parliament, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington insisted it was money well spent, fobbing off any insinuation the belated detail was aimed at drawing attention from estimates.
Little more than an hour later, the independent Stuart Wood-led probe had the receipts, in a conveniently timed “update” outlining its work to date!
Highlighted in slick graphics were the 1647 notices issued by the inquiry, 1.7 million documents gathered and under review, 48 witnesses heard across 37 hearing days with 145 statements, documents and videos tendered into evidence.
“To support this volume of work, Commission staffing has grown to more than 100 personnel,” the release noted. That’s some serious people power (and payroll).
But can Queenslanders expect any further breakdown of this? Not if Frecklington has anything to do with it. In response to pre-estimates questions on notice seeking a more comprehensive budget accounting, Frecklington said “individual rates and commercial terms are treated as confidential”.
Approached for any further costs breakdown, an inquiry spokesperson said its budget was allocated by government and administered through the Department of Justice. “Individual rates and commercial terms are treated as confidential,” they said.
On why the probe no longer had a public facing page listing its staff, the spokesperson said its legal team included a “mix of ongoing and specialist counsel engaged from time to time as the inquiry’s requirements demand”.
“The Commission is committed to keeping the public informed about its progress through regular website, social media and email updates,” the spokesperson offered around questions of any government announcement heads up. Transparency manifest.
In an odd related turn of events, return federal Liberal candidate for Ryan, Maggie Forrest, had her Monday preselection announcement marred by a LNP HQ hiccup which accidentally claimed the barrister had been counsel assisting for both the CFMEU and Child Safety Inquiries.
A clarification was issued after we asked questions about the apparently quiet appointments. Forrest’s role was, in fact, as counsel for the State of Queensland in both government-commissioned proceedings.
The CFMEU inquiry fires back up its next block of public hearings this week, with Transport and Main Roads officials including deputy director-general Julie Mitchell and deputy metropolitan region director John (Jack) Ryan among names on the witness list.
Until now, the government and inquiry has leaned on its status as the nation’s sole public probe examining alleged criminal and corrupt conduct in the union and construction sector. Should Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan be overthrown by deputy and rival Ben Carroll, it could have some competition.
Have a curiosity for the Public Circus tent? Email us on m.dennien@nine.com.au or james.hall@nine.com.au. For more security, sing out with a non-work device and network via Signal (mattdennien.15 or here) and mattdennien@protonmail.com.
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Matt Dennien is a reporter at Brisbane Times covering state politics, parliament and the public sector. He has previously worked for newspapers in Tasmania and Brisbane community radio station 4ZZZ. Contact him securely on Signal @mattdennien.15Connect via email.From our partners
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