Welcome to Brisbane Times’ Queensland public sector column, Public Circus. This week: a deep dive into the long-awaited public health service overhaul, a familiar reviewer, the (not) hiring freeze, and more.
Almost 18 months into the parliamentary term, the Crisafulli government has finally pulled the trigger on its sweeping overhaul of hospital and health service boards.
Gazetted on Friday, the cabinet-approved changes announced by Health Minister Tim Nicholls saw 50 new faces added (including three high-profile LNP figures) and 41 reappointed.
What wasn’t made clear by Nicholls was who was leaving – either through their choice not to seek reappointment or a failure to make it through the selection process.
One who has decided to jump despite having tenure until 2028 is Adrian Carson, formerly a Metro North board member.
Circus readers may remember Carson popping up as a principal with former health director-general and private-sector revolving door regular Shaun Drummond’s new consulting firm, Create Health – which has netted almost $2 million from the service.
Carson was announced as a founding principal at the firm in December 2024, and Metro North says he had complied with all protocols around his declared conflict of interest. He will end his time on the board from April 1.
A Metro North spokesperson told us on Monday this resignation was tendered back in August. Carson has also been contacted for comment.
But back to those who were up for reappointment this week.
The highest profile departures are those of four chairs: Chris Boland (Cairns and Hinterland), Dennis Campbell (Darling Downs), Janine Walker (Metro South) and Cheryl Vardon AO (North West).
Six deputy chairs are also out the door: Teresa Dyson (Gold Coast), Dr Kerry Maley (Mackay), Eleanor Milligan (North West), Jan Chambers (South West), Michelle Morton (Townsville), and Jeffrey Dunn (West Moreton).
Of those reached by Circus so far, all have indicated it was their decision to step away.
And beyond those first-time appointments with direct party political links to the LNP, Circus has also found at least one other with some less obvious ties.
Jade Wellings, a new Wide Bay board member, was a Fraser Coast council colleague of first-term Hervey Bay MP David Lee. Lee described her as a friend, thanking her for her “amazing” media, social media, and “practical support and advice” during his campaign.
One health sector source also closely following the changes, who spoke to Circus on condition of anonymity, noted that despite the LNP’s rhetoric around putting “doctors and nurses back in charge”, the new and returning board members were “very doctor heavy”.
Amid the deluge of doctors, the source added that First Nations folks and community figures were also “conspicuously absent”.
The government has noted a number of nurses – or others with past nursing experience – were among the appointments, pulled from a field of 1025 applicants and assessed through a process run by Queensland Health.
And despite the silence from Nicholls on if and how widely the government has flexed its newly self-awarded powers to dismiss the 50 or so folks with terms not ending until 2028 without cause, Circus has heard it has.
Word is three of the four such Gold Coast board members have been given marching orders, as have two of the four at Metro South – the identities of which Circus is still trying to nail down.
Our source says when looking at the decisions with a capability, and even political, lens, some sackings still don’t make sense.
“I think it was just making room for others,” they said.
Circus is not suggesting that any appointees are not qualified or suitable for their roles.
Back to the future, and close to home, for Bleijie’s industrial relations review pick
On the topic of government appointments, this column noted with interest Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie‘s appointment of Glenn Ferguson AM as the lead figure of an independent state industrial relations and workers’ compensation scheme review.
It’s not the first time Bleijie has handed Ferguson such work. As attorney-general in the Newman years, he appointed the former Queensland Law Society and Law Council of Australia president to chair the WorkCover board.
Ferguson’s firm, FC Lawyers, has previously donated to the LNP and reportedly sponsored a 2019 fundraiser for then state opposition leader Deb Frecklington and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.
One of Ferguson’s three directors at the firm, Chloe Kopilovic, was given the WorkCover board chair gig by Bleijie this time around. In 2022, the firm posted photos of an even more youthful looking trio to mark Kopilovic’s 10-year work anniversary.
Both are also directors of the Uniforms 4 Kids charity founded by Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Debbie Platz’s mother, Yvonne Pattinson OAM. The also-in-focus Platz, Circus readers may be aware, is married to Ferguson.
Frecklington, who as attorney-general signed off on the recruitment of the former senior police figure to the watchdog position, was asked about that connection late last year and dismissed any preferential treatment.
“I mean, it’s almost, I hate to say it… but it is offensive to her career,” she told News Corp at the time.
Circus does not suggest any preferential treatment of Ferguson, either, only that he has a longstanding professional relationship with Bleijie.
But back to the review. Given Bleijie’s past comments on the matter, Circus will be curious to see if the long “freedom of association” leash Ferguson has been given might extend to changes to the union encouragement policy, which lays out a proactive approach to allowing worker organising.
Detail of TMR’s (not) hiring freeze deepens – and spreads wider
Despite assurances from Transport and Main Roads there was no hiring freeze within the department, another Circus contact has spilled the beans on the tightening on recruitment.
Last week, we revealed morale within the department was terrible due to the stretched workforce caused by the refusal to fill vacant positions, backfill or slot in secondments.
This week, another whisperer from elsewhere in the department, Translink, backed up our reporting on the bureaucratically dubbed “vacancy management” plan.
Circus has seen an internal document outlining changes to the vacancy management process in the department, which now requires approval from the very top, director-general Sally Stannard, to advertise for all permanent positions and any temporary roles for three months or more.
This includes any extensions of secondments.
Typically, according to the Circus source, advertisements for new roles would have been approved at a “local level” – likely through a team director and finalised by human resources.
“Now it comes from someone at my level, goes through the director, goes to the general manager, goes to the DDG [deputy director general], then goes to the DG,” they said.
“There’s just so much red tape, and it’s almost like it’s been done on purpose to stop us doing it.”
The source said the freeze on filling vacant positions had the same result as cutting positions from the public service.
“You’ve got permanent positions available that you would normally advertise for. They’ve all been cancelled,” they said, saying there were now many public service jobs “that no longer exist”.
But a spokesman again denied there was any such freeze across the department “or any specific division within the department”.
“TMR continues to advertise and fill positions to ensure our workforce is optimally positioned to deliver critical infrastructure projects and operational requirements,” they said.
Circus has now also heard from multiple sources in the Queensland Fire Department – which has been contacted for comment – about its own foray into such feats of human resourcing.
A joyfully named Establishment and Resource Governance Subcommittee, spun up last May, has taken charge of all hiring, including the filling of even secondment-driven vacancies of more than six months.
Acting-up in roles is said to have all but ceased – let alone then being made permanent. “Effectively, they have just been stifling hiring” in the administration side of the department, one source told us. (And this is an administration which plays a more vital supporting role to the frontline than the label suggests.)
Many roles are said to have not been filled, with the workload spread among remaining staff causing the kind of morale problems you might expect.
This is said to have peaked in about October last year, when the then still relatively new chief operating officer Dr Rebecca Denning began hosting regular town hall type meetings of the troops. We hear they’re also happening over in the Rural Fire Service Queensland arm.
Sound familiar? While the firies are being less direct than Circus has heard from TMR, the (not) hiring freeze has been a topic of discussion at all meetings on the admin side.
“They have assured us that all FTEs are safe, but it’s just when people leave that the issues arise,” the source said, describing the outcome as a “cascade of burnout”.
Education on notice over unpaid award bump
Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek dropped the news in parliament last week that some 10,500 teachers had been underpaid a combined $8.7 million since September.
The issue (of “human error”, as the minister put it) came about because of the miscalculation of a change in the teacher’s award, which overtook enterprise agreement pay for those on Band 2.
Teachers were promised the underpayment, an average figure of $830, would land on April 1. Langbroek also told parliament he expected the department run by director-general Sharon Schimming to “improve its processes to minimise the risk that this happens again”.
The underpayment perhaps takes on a greater relevance with other news out last week about the government’s stalled bargaining process with the teacher’s union.
The timeline for arbitration of the pay deal, which expired last year, now won’t see hearings happen before October.
Given the State Wage Case is an annual process, there might be a few more teachers landing a pay increase by then.
CS Energy chief executive departs just nine months in the job
In government-owned corporation land, the big news on Monday was the announcement of Brian Gillespie’s departure as chief executive of CS Energy.
The significance is that Gillespie was appointed to the role only, er, back in June. Board chair Tony Bellas gave little away for the reason behind the change in his statement.
“Brian has worked closely with the CS Energy board to provide leadership, rebuild the executive team, and position the company for the next phase of Queensland’s energy transition in a dynamic and rapidly changing energy market,” Bellas said.
“On behalf of the board, I thank Brian for his commitment to CS Energy and wish him well in his future endeavours.”
Bellas said the board had started a search to appoint the next chief executive, and that he will serve as executive officer on a temporary basis until then.
Know more? Come join the Circus.
Have a curiosity for the Public Circus tent? Email us on m.dennien@brisbanetimes.com.au or james.hall@nine.com.au (or sing out more securely via mattdennien@protonmail.com and @mattdennien.15 on Signal).
Matt Dennien is a reporter at Brisbane Times covering state politics and the public service. He has previously worked for newspapers in Tasmania and Brisbane community radio station 4ZZZ. Contact him securely on Signal @mattdennien.15Connect via email.
James Hall is the News Director at the Brisbane Times. He is the former Queensland correspondent at The Australian Financial Review and has reported for a range of mastheads across the country, specialising on political and finance reporting.Connect via X or email.
