Top bureaucrat was paid $630,000 on gardening leave over Trad affair
Disgraced senior bureaucrat Jeff Hunt was paid $630,000 while suspended from his role as deputy director general of Education Queensland, hearings in Brisbane heard today.
Hunt resigned from his position earlier this month, two years after he was stood down while being investigated for his role in a governance scandal that claimed the job of former deputy premier Jackie Trad.
Education Queensland director general Michael DeāAth revealed the sums paid to Hunt during budget estimates hearings under questioning from Shadow Education Minister Dr Christian Rowan.
The payments cover Huntās salary for the financial years from 2020-21 when Hunt was stood aside from his role āon full renumerationā in May 2020 until his exit from the role on July 11.
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli has described the length of the investigation and Huntās suspension on full pay a ādisaster for Education Queenslandā, which showed the Palaszczuk Government to be āmorally bankruptā.
Huntās replacement, acting deputy director general Duncan Anson, told the hearing the payments were in line with the terms and conditions of Huntās contract.
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Hunt left his post following revelations in May that a disciplinary probe foundĀ he engaged in misconduct during the recruitment of a principal at the Inner City South State Secondary College (ICSSSC).
The details were made public after he lost an appeal in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) after trying to argue the disciplinary decision was not fair and reasonable.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) had substantiated several allegations made against Hunt, the QIRC decision said, including that he āinappropriatelyā involved himself in the recruitment process for the principal and āoverruledā the selection panelās choice of preferred candidate.
Hunt was also found to have engaged in misconduct by failing to accurately record the reasons for the decision to re-advertise, and for misleading the director-general about the reasons.
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Following the PSCāsĀ findings last September, Hunt was told āserious consideration was being given to the termination of [his] employmentā.
The PSC disciplinary probe came after the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) launched an investigation into the recruitment and selection process for the principal of the school in Brisbaneās Dutton Park, located within Tradās electorate.
Under further questioning from Rowan during this morningās hearing, Education Queenslandās most senior administrator admitted he had not read the report into Huntās conduct, but had received a brief.
In the wake of the scandal, the department had developed a new integrity plan, DeāAth said.
A CCC investigation resulted in Trad standing aside from her ministerial duties while the investigation looked into meetings she held with candidates during the recruitment period.
The findings of theĀ CCC investigation cleared Trad of any criminal conduct or ādishonest or corrupt intentā.
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