Sunshine state hasn't shaken its shady past

In Queensland, the easy movement from government to business continues unrestrained despite Crime and Misconduct Commission proposals to the contrary. Former senior ministers have joined large property developers without restraint. Lobbying firms with former ministers and a host of ex-ministerial staff oil the machine of influence and deal-making. Some ministers serve in portfolios that conveniently coincide with their former employment with key business peak interest groups.

Criticise the present Queensland government as Commerce Queensland once did and you are ostracised, just as under previous regimes.

This blurring of business and government interests should not be surprising. Queensland was once the Cinderella state: underdeveloped, sparsely populated, with limited industrialisation and an over-reliance on agriculture. In recent decades it has become Australia's growth state, but Queensland's late but sudden development has meant it remains very much a frontier society with weak institutional frameworks and poor processes and without a sophisticated business establishment.

The large influx of funds looking for investment and profits provided too many opportunities for profit and exploitation by business and those in government unrestrained by adequate laws, parliamentary scrutiny or appropriate business practices.

Queensland's particular form of economic development, with its reliance on resources, tourism and population growth, exacerbated these tendencies. The resources sector needed extensive infrastructure and approvals from government for their long-term investment projects to progress, while tourism involved speculative ventures requiring government approvals and minimal regulation to succeed. Population growth spurred the property development and construction sectors that were highly dependent on government planning laws for success.

Monaco, it was said, was a sunny place for shady people. Queensland may not be run by shady people but decision-making is too often made in the shade, behind closed doors and by consenting interests.

Queensland government may have changed its political complexion since the Fitzgerald inquiry, but the closeness between business and government continues. It has become even tighter given the more disciplined nature of Labor politics.

Queensland needs a royal commission to probe the depth of the relationship between government and business, and the effects of gambling, clubs and property development, and to review the operations of the CMC so new processes can be established that throw light on shady practices and expose unacceptable conflicts of interest.