RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS - Queensland Parliament ...

31 Oct 2012 Legislative Assembly 2249
WEDNESDAY, 31 OCTOBER 2012
Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly met at 2.00 pm.
Madam Speaker (Hon. Fiona Simpson, Maroochydore) read prayers and took the chair.
PRIVILEGE
Release of Cabinet Documents
Ms PALASZCZUK (Inala—ALP) (Leader of the Opposition) (2.01 pm): In response to the motion
of the House dated 12 July 2012, I seek leave of the House to table various cabinet documents of the
previous government relating to the IBM contract and the Health payroll.
Leave granted.
Tabled paper: Secret Cabinet Budget Review Committee Decision No. 3019 (Submission No. 3962), dated 22 July 2010 [1426].
Tabled paper: Confidential Cabinet Budget Review Committee Decision No. 3231 (Submission No. 4166), dated 2 June 2011
[1426A].
Tabled paper: Confidential Cabinet Budget Review Committee Decision No. 3040 (Submission No. 3979), dated 26 August 2010
[1426B].
Tabled paper: Confidential Cabinet Budget Review Committee Decision No. 2989 (Submission No. 3931), dated 17 June 2010
[1426C].
Tabled paper: Confidential Committee Decision No. 3002 (Submission No. 3948), dated 8 July 2010 [1426D].
Tabled paper: Confidential Cabinet Budget Review Committee Decision No. 3090 (Submission No. 4036), dated 29 October 2010
[1426E].
Tabled paper: Secret Cabinet Budget Review Committee Decision No. 3108 (Submission No. 4064), dated 18 November 2010
[1426F].
Tabled paper: Confidential Cabinet Budget Review Committee Decision No. 3136 (Submission No. 4061), dated 6 December
2010 [1426G].
Tabled paper: Confidential Cabinet Budget Review Committee Decision No. 3204 (Submission No. 4155), dated 9 May 2011
[1426H].
Tabled paper: Confidential Cabinet Budget Review Committee Decision No. 3279 (Submission No. 4242), dated 29 August 2011
[1426I].
Tabled paper: Confidential Cabinet Budget Review Committee Decision No. 3313, dated 14 October 2011 [1426J].
Tabled paper: Secret Cabinet Budget Review Committee Decision No. 3388 (Submission No. 4325), dated 1 December 2011
[1426K].
Tabled paper: Secret Cabinet Budget Review Committee Decision No. 3393 (Submission No. 4332), dated 1 December 2011
[1426L].
Tabled paper: Confidential Cabinet Budget Review Committee Decision No. 3396 (Submission No. 4336), dated 1 December
2011 [1426M].
Tabled paper: Confidential Cabinet Decision No. 9337, dated 10 May 2010 [1426N].
Tabled paper: Secret Cabinet Decision No. 9639 (Submission No. 7698), dated 22 November 2010 [1426O].
Tabled paper: Confidential Cabinet Decision No. 9407, dated 7 June 2010 [1426P].
Tabled paper: Confidential Cabinet Decision No. 9904, dated 11 July 2011 [1426Q].
Ms PALASZCZUK: This is an historic occasion in this House.
Government members interjected.
Ms PALASZCZUK: This is no laughing matter. Madam Speaker, as you would well be aware, as
would all members of this House, it is a longstanding convention in Queensland that current ministers
may not have access to cabinet documents produced by a past government of a different political party.
The reasons for this are self-evident. Protection of the conventions of this parliament is a duty of all
members of this House and conventions which have been in place for centuries, adopted from the
Imperial Parliament on the creation of this great state and this great state legislature, should not be
lightly forsaken.
After a great deal of soul-searching and deliberation on my part, on 30 July 2012 I wrote to the
Minister for Health and advised him that I would make available the documents in accordance with the
motion. However, in order to guarantee some protection for the conventions of this parliament I placed
certain restrictions on the access that was to be provided to the minister. One of my concerns has been
that the documents referred to in the motion contained commercial-in-confidence information, the
disclosure of which may have had significant ramifications. As I pointed out at the Health estimates
hearing, the Auditor-General is undertaking a 2011-12 financial audit of Queensland Health, examining
the payroll system and associated cost issues and will report to parliament later this year. So in
response to repeated calls from the House and the minister, today I am taking the unprecedented step
of tabling those documents in the House for the benefit of all Queenslanders and all honourable
members who have a genuine interest in their contents.