19 January 2004

Dr Bruce Flegg,
Liberal Candidate for Moggill

CC: Lisa Rayner
ALP Candidate for Moggill

In response to your letter of invitation to Moggill electors dated 15 January 2004, I should like to draw your attention to two issues

1. An Abuse of Natural Justice

The first is an issue with which I will formally be requesting assistance from whoever is returned as the new MLA for Moggill. This is outlined in an email to the Premier  ('Minister denied justice: Beattie').

The email refers to an unresolved dispute related to a damaging abuse of natural justice by the Premier's Department when it refused to allow professional merit to be considered in the making of a senior policy R&D appointment. The Department has stone-walled the issue for a decade, and simply refused innumerable requests to justify its action.

The retiring MLA for Moggill, Dr David Watson, pursued the matter for a time - but gave up after discussing it with the then Premier who refused to take action - see Letter to Dr Watson of 8/5/02 (which includes follow-up correspondence). My reasons for submitting that it is unacceptable to 'give up' following a political knock-back when the point at issue is the politicisation and de-skilling of the Public Service (and resulting damaging injustices to individuals) is outlined in that document.

That the consequences of politicisation and de-skilling are significant to the state is illustrated in the attached email ('Beattie Back for more') which argues how this can account for what some have called the Queensland Effect (ie a major unforeseen electoral reversal). The point is that commentators must be unaware of the extent of practical failures in public administration which give rise to community discontent if they rely on political debate in the absence of a professional public service or reliable independent policy analysts (ie in the absence of bodies willing and able to tell political leaders that policy rhetoric is not being implemented effectively).

2. Planning and Transport

In view of your emphasis on local planning and infrastructure, I also refer to an analysis of issues involved in Growth Management in SE Queensland. This basically suggests that public concerns about inadequacies in this area can not be separated from the 'constipation' of state administration generally, and that meeting expectations regarding infrastructure funding will not be straight forward. I also attach for your interest some comments prepared as a result of a public request by Cameron Thompson for comments about Brisbane's Western Road Access. These basically suggest that nothing is going to be resolved in relation to the problems that concern your electorate unless the broader administrative dysfunctions are resolved.