Minister falls on sword

PALASZCZUK Government Minister Mark Bailey was last night stood aside amid revelations that his private email use – and deletion of the account – may amount to corrupt conduct.

The Crime and Corruption Commission last night revealed it had found “a number” of public records among the 30,000 emails retrieved from Mr Bailey’s Yahoo account after it was reactivated earlier this year.

It found there was a “reasonable suspicion of corrupt conduct” and has directed State Archivist Mike Summerell to investigate further.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she had asked Mr Bailey to stand aside pending the outcome of that investigation with an acting Minister to be appointed in the interim.

Mr Bailey insisted he stood by his integrity, but was standing aside so as not to become a distraction for the Government, with a state election due within months.

“I don’t want this to be an unnecessary distraction from the good work and achievements of the Palaszczuk Government,” he said in a statement. “I stand by my integrity and look forward to the resolution of this investigation which I hope will be carried out as quickly as possible.”

Environment Minister Steven Miles was last night floated as a potential contender to fill the Energy portfolio until the investigation is finalised.

Mr Bailey had deleted the email account after a Right to Information request to access it was lodged with his office by The Australian newspaper.

It followed revelations he had been lobbied via his private email account by the Electrical Trades Union.