3 months ago
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The news
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie’s right-hand man was the only person recommended by the Justice Department for a role on the body tasked with redrawing the state’s electoral boundaries.
Sarah Cruickshank told a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday that a brief on the issue had suggested her predecessor as the department’s director-general could have been considered for the Queensland Redistribution Commission role.
“[But] the only one that we actually recommended in the brief was the head of the Department of Planning [John Sosso],” she said.
Why it matters
Sosso was made director-general of Bleijie’s Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning after October’s election, having previously served under him in the Newman government as Justice Department director-general.
He has worked in senior public sector roles in governments led by both major parties, and has previously been a member of both Labor and the LNP.
Jarrod Bleijie’s right-hand man John Sosso glided into a role with the QRC.Credit: Economic Development Queensland
While the LNP has defended his April selection for the QRC, the Labor opposition isn’t the only voice raising concerns.
Tony Fitzgerald, who led the landmark Fitzgerald inquiry in the late 1980s, has also warned of a return to the “bad old days” of “biased electoral boundaries”.
What they said
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Questioned by Labor about her department’s advice to Attorney-General Deb Frecklington, Cruickshank (who has also faced questions about her Liberal links) said two names were flagged for the QRC role.
She told an estimates hearing that the mid-December briefing noted there was “the opportunity” to consider the director-general of the Justice Department (which was not her at the time).
But, ultimately, Sosso was the only person recommended for the role.
Another perspective
In Fitzgerald’s April statement, he said: “I’m concerned that Queensland might be reverting to the bad old days of biased electoral boundaries – the notorious Queensland gerrymander.
“I sincerely hope that isn’t so. Biased electoral boundaries fundamentally conflict with democracy.”
Fitzgerald, in a 2014 parliamentary submission, highlighted Sosso’s role as part of a “small ambitious group” of Justice bureaucrats who “advised and influenced” the attorney-general during his two-year inquiry, which the department “did little willingly to assist”.
The inquiry made no findings against Sosso.
What you need to know
Under state law, the QRC comprises a judge, or former judge, the electoral commissioner, and the head of a department or equivalent.
Cruickshank only took up her job as the head of Justice in April, after acting appointments in the role in the early months of the Crisafulli government.
She previously worked as a chief of staff in former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian’s ministerial office, on secondment from the Premier’s Department.
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Under Labor questioning in estimates, Cruickshank confirmed she had also worked in the electoral office of then federal Liberal MP Brendan Nelson, and for former Liberal senator Helen Coonan in the 1990s, before both became Howard government ministers.
She also said she had made a $1000 donation in 2010 to Liberal candidate for Penrith Stuart Ayres.
What’s next
Submissions to the QRC close on Wednesday, with public feedback on them to be opened this month.
The commission will publish a proposed redistribution of the state’s 93 electorates for further feedback in early 2026.
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