‘You think I’m going to focus on a gossip column?’ Premier grilled on under-fire minister

3 hours ago 3

Premier David Crisafulli has brushed off allegations of staff abuse by one of his senior ministers, who has reportedly lost 11 staffers in just 10 months.

Labor raised the staffing issues in Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber’s office in parliament in July, hinting at turmoil in the Gold Coast-based MP’s office. In response, a visibly angry Gerber accused unnamed Labor ministers of throwing staplers at staff.

It came to the fore again on Friday, when The Australian reported Gerber had lost her third chief of staff in 10 months, the newspaper attributing it to the minister’s behaviour and treatment of staff.

Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber in Parliament earlier this year. Her treatment of staff has come under intense scrutiny.

Valeria Cheghov, a former media adviser in the Morrison and Turnbull governments, was the latest chief of staff to leave Gerber’s office, following the departures of David Fraser and Matt McEachan.

Gerber was a notable absentee at a media conference in Brisbane on Monday about what Crisafulli described as the “biggest police operation addressing youth crime in our state’s history”.

Crisafulli played down Gerber’s staff turnover to the assembled journalists.

“It’s no different to people in your industry who might take other opportunities,” he said.

“That doesn’t mean that they didn’t enjoy what they were doing.

“I have to be focused on the things that Queenslanders want me to fix, and there are many of them.

“The benefit for me is you guys have all had a front-row seat for four years about the issues I pursued and the way that I pursued them, and I didn’t make things about whether or not staff were leaving in office – I never did.

“I spoke about the issues that matter to Queensland, and I’ll keep doing that.”

But the questions kept coming.

When asked outright if he believed Gerber had treated her staff with “the highest levels of courtesy and respect”, as per his directive to ministers, Crisafulli dodged the question.

“You’re asking me to comment on a gossip column,” he said.

“I’ve got youth crime, I’ve got a housing crisis where people can’t afford to own a home, I’ve got people who desperately want to be able to get surgery, and you think I’m going to focus on a gossip column?”

Speaking on somewhat safer ground, Crisafulli announced 27 serious repeat offenders had been arrested in north and far-north Queensland in recent police operations.

“That’s a big deal, and it shows you that if we address those serious repeat offenders, we can make a difference and lower victim numbers in the state, which is obviously very important to us,” he said.

Crisafulli said one of the offenders, a 17-year-old, had been charged 49 offences, including 11 for stealing cars.

“We’re dealing with the worst of the worst of this cohort and we have to throw everything in our power at them to turn the tide on the youth crime crisis,” he said.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.