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AAP
AAP
National
Marty Silk

Qld premier defends legal cost secrecy

Ms Palaszczuk denies the four Labor MPs were told to suppress the report on the CCC's legal costs. (AAP)

The Queensland premier has refused to comment on why three Labor MPs blocked the release of the corruption watchdog's legal costs in its case involving former Labor treasurer Jackie Trad.

Ms Trad is in a legal battle with the Crime and Corruption Commission to stop it releasing a report into allegations she interfered in the recruitment of under-treasurer Frankie Carroll in 2019.

The government is paying the legal costs of both Ms Trad, due to indemnity rules, and the CCC.

The watchdog outlined its legal costs, and nepotism allegations regarding public service appointments, in a letter to a parliamentary committee.

However, government MPs Jonty Bush, Jess Pugh, Melissa McMahon and Ali King blocked the release of the document.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk denies her office or cabinet ministers told the four Labor MPs to suppress the report.

"I reject some of the premises of that question, Mr. Speaker, and let me say this, I am not going to interfere in committee business and I'm not going to reflect on committee business," she told parliament on Wednesday.

The Liberal National Party education spokesman Christian Rowan also asked about how much the government paid education department deputy director-general Jeff Hunt when he was stood aside for misconduct, and if he would have to pay that back.

Ms Palaszczuk described paying Mr Hunt's salary while he had been stood down as "standard procedure" for public servants and attacked the opposition.

"I will not have people in this House, especially those opposite who have a very good track record of actually condemning our public servants ... and attacking, it's the same LNP, they had learned nothing," she said.

"Scott Morrison remember, in their costings, wanted to cut the public service. It's in their DNA, a massive cut, that's right, that's right, there's no federal ICAC do an investigation."

Mr Bleijie on Thursday accused the government of "running a protection racket" for their former Labor colleague.

He said the CCC's probe into Ms Trad had been completed, and there was no apparent legal reason to suppress the CCC's legal costs.

"Revealing that the legal cost to the taxpayer that the CCC has spent in court does nothing to impact the case before the court," the deputy LNP leader said.

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