Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk insists she "never, never, never" read a conflict of interest report concerning her chief of staff six days before he announced his resignation.
Ms Palaszczuk had asked her department's internal auditor Ernst & Young to audit her then right-hand man David Barbagallo over a potential conflict of interest in 2019, after his company Fortress Capstone attracted $267,500 in government investment.
Mr Barbagallo was cleared of misusing his position and corrupt conduct by the state's Crime and Corruption Commission earlier this week.
But CCC investigators said he should have been disciplined for failing to properly declare his interests and seek Integrity Commissioner advice.
The E&Y report was handed to the Department of Premier and Cabinet director-general Dave Stewart on August 30 last year, six days before Mr Barbagallo announced his resignation on health grounds. He finished working at the premier's department on October 15.
Ms Palaszczuk claims she did not read the audit report, which she said Mr Stewart forwarded directly to the CCC.
"No, never, never, never, I was not given the report," the premier insisted on Friday.
"It was forwarded to the CCC, it is entirely inappropriate for that report to be forwarded to me whilst there is an assessment, which then turned into an investigation."
When pressed about why she hadn't read the E&Y report, which she commissioned, Ms Palaszczuk stressed that it was not her report.
"No, it's not my document, it's not my document ... you are completely wrong," the premier said.
Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said it was "diabolical" for Ms Palaszczuk to claim she had not read the report.
"Surely to goodness she would have read that report," Ms Frecklington said.
The CCC probe found Mr Barbagallo's declaration of interests form hadn't been signed and dated by the premier.
Ms Palaszczuk told an estimates committee last year she had been advised that his interests had been properly declared.
The premier says she saw Mr Barbagallo's forms in her office but did not fill them out because there was no place on the documents to sign them.
She did not say if she had erred in failing to fill them out.
"The processes have been fixed up," Ms Palaszczuk said.
The premier also said she doesn't need to correct the parliamentary record because she told the committee what she believed was the truth at that time.
"It's come out through the report, I can only update parliament to the best of my knowledge at that particular point in time," Ms Palaszczuk said.
Ms Frecklington said the premier's refusal to say sorry or correct the record was disrespecting the institution of parliament.
"The premier must apologise to the parliament of Queensland for lying to the people of Queensland," she said.
Australian Associated Press
