Queensland’s former top public servant’s golden handshake revealed

1 week ago 8

The former top Queensland public servant who became the first casualty of Premier David Crisafulli’s purge of Labor-aligned figures pocketed a golden handshake of nearly $400,000.

Mike Kaiser served as former premier Steven Miles’s top bureaucrat but was swiftly removed after the Liberal National Party’s landslide election victory last year.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with Mike Kaiser (centre) and then-Queensland premier Steven Miles in December 2023.

Kaiser, a former Labor MP and party state secretary, was routinely criticised as a political appointment. A new annual report from the Department of Premier and Cabinet revealed he was paid $397,000 in termination benefits after being in the role for about 11 months.

On Tuesday, Crisafulli stood by the decision to pay out the former director-general when pressed on the cost to taxpayers, despite the documents also showing about $1 million was spent on termination benefits from the one department.

Meanwhile, the Queensland Health annual report also revealed its former director-general Michael Walsh was paid $511,000 in termination benefits and Queensland Treasury revealed former department leader Michael Carey received $460,000 on exit.

Both senior figures joined Kaiser in being sacked by the Crisafulli government soon after the state election.

“The head of the public service should not be a former member of parliament, should not be a former state secretary of a political party, and should not be someone who a former premier chased out of the state for doing things that that former premier wasn’t comfortable with,” the premier said.

“That person was made the most senior public servant in this state.

“If you’re asking me about whether or not it’s money well spent, to get a public service that is independent and serves the public, you bet.”

Kaiser was replaced by Damien Walker as the department’s DG, who was recruited from a similar role in the Labor state government in South Australia.

In July, Kaiser announced he had landed a plush gig in the federal public service as head of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water in the Albanese government.

Mike Kaiser touring Nuyina, Australia’s dedicated Antarctic research vessel, earlier this month.

After he was sacked by the LNP government, Kaiser defended Crisafulli’s right to terminate his employment, despite the five-year contract terms for directors-general aimed at removing political influence in top public service hires.

“I fully respect his decision and hope my attitude goes some way to overcoming the nonsense that premiers can’t choose their head of department in a modern democracy,” he said in October.

Although Kaiser was saddled with the legacy of Labor-aligned appointments, the party’s former state secretary was widely regarded within the public service as professional and effective.

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