Ministers back to school

TAXPAYERS have spent $50,000 on a training course to teach ministers and their staff how to do their jobs with integrity and not to overstep their roles and responsibilities when dealing with public servants.

About 130 people have so far completed the course, which was a recommendation by the state’s corruption watchdog after its high-profile probe into the appointment process of a Brisbane school principal in 2020.

But a government spokesman was unable to say how many staff were yet to participate and whether every minister had taken part.

It’s understood the majority of the target group has undertaken the online training.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles spruiked the training last week, saying it was an “appropriate measure” to roll it out to other “appropriate staff” in the wake of Professor Peter Coaldrake’s interim report into the government’s integrity.

A government spokesman said the government would ensure all “appropriate staff” completed the training – however, it was not known what the timeframe for completion would be.