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Welcome to Brisbane Times’ Queensland public sector column, Public Circus. This week: the use and non-use of artificial intelligence in department land, an own goal for the Games authority and all hands on deck for a bargaining agreement at City Hall.
The fast-approaching state budget means the enthralling democratic theatre of estimates is just around the corner.
Public servants have begun compiling enormous folders filled with detailed departmental notes, in preparation to face questions in late July from the government’s political rivals who have trawled through the budget line-by-line.
And at least one department has told its staff to lean on the handy help of artificial intelligence to prepare the exhaustive documents.
Circus was told workers within the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) received a verbal instruction to use AI to fill out the first spine of the briefing note.
The documents are heavily relied on during estimates to provide transparent information about how the government is spending the state’s cash.
The department didn’t say if there were specific platforms it preferred its staff use, or if there are any concerns related to the use of AI.
“Using secure AI tools is optional, and importantly, they don’t replace normal approval processes which include verifying information to ensure it is accurate,” a spokeswoman said in response to questions from Circus.
But this column was told the instruction raised eyebrows within the department, where a cohort are increasingly concerned about the use of AI, particularly for tasks where accuracy is of the utmost importance – such as, how the department is spending taxpayers’ money.
The AI platform public servants aren’t using
The environment department refused to outline to Circus if there was a preferred platform, but it’s likely staff aren’t using the government-owned AI-powered assistant, QChat.
Premier David Crisafulli flagged the need to overhaul how public servants use artificial intelligence during a summit hosted by sector publication The Mandarin, because less than one-in-10 are using the state’s own platform.
“There’s not a lot of people using QChat, unfortunately,” he told the audience in response to a question asking if he had used the platform himself.
“We may need to look at other ways to allow people to use AI because I’m not sure QChat is delivering what it was intended to be.”
The premier said unions would need to be involved in the further adoption of AI to sensitively communicate to workers that it’s not replacing staff but is instead “a new wave of opportunity”.
The use of AI is a keen focus for Circus but the lack of QChat adoption is a costly issue given the government spent $2.7 million to develop and roll it out and another $1.8 million each year.
“QChat is an AI tool currently available to Queensland government departments and statutory bodies,” a Department of Customer Services, Open Data and Small and Family Business (CDSB) spokesman said.
“CDSB is continuing to explore a range of cutting-edge AI technologies in order to enhance customer service, increase productivity, and to better support public servants.”
Let’s hope the government’s chatbot for schools, the $1.5 million Corella AI program, is more useful.
PR blunder for Games authority
There were more than a few palms slapping foreheads over at the Games Independent Infrastructure and Co-ordination Authority last Tuesday when workers at Victoria Park were instructed to erect fences during – and right next to – a media conference held by those opposed to the stadium development.
The conspiracy-minded among the Save Victoria Park crew accused GIICA of trying to intimidate them into silence, ahead of the authority taking possession of the land on Monday.
But Circus understands Hanlon’s Razor – “never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity” – can be applied in this case.
The work could – and should – have easily been delayed a few minutes to let the conference proceed without disruption, but instead it elevated Save Victoria Park much more than the release of a hydrology report could ever have.
Those back at GIICA HQ understood it was a bit of an own goal. What would have been a relatively dry (pardon the pun) report about the site’s hydrology turned into a headline-grabbing story about conflict between activists and workers and a precursor to heated clashes between police and protesters on Friday.
The best publicity Save Victoria Park could have hoped for.
Less upset about the brouhaha was Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie, who was his usual hyperbolic self as he sought to take political advantage of the situation.
The minister in charge of Games delivery, who has called the well-meaning and sincere group “loopy” for their opposition, said GIICA contractors were left shaken after the confrontation.
In reality, the hi-vis brigade was barely stirred.
The council where staff love working
Brisbane City Council chief executive Kerrie Freeman took the unusual step of attending negotiations herself as enterprise bargaining got under way for thousands of staff.
The top public servant at Australia’s biggest local government appeared in person at Brisbane Square as discussions kicked off on May 12.
It hasn’t been typical in the past, but the chief executive outlined council’s position for negotiations and said she was hoping a deal could be reached quickly, one union in attendance told members in an email after the meeting wrapped.
Council staff, from bus drivers to librarians, are covered by the same agreement, and it’s a safe bet they’ll be asking for a sizeable pay bump amid ongoing price rises.
The roughly half-a-dozen unions involved in the negotiations are expecting an offer from council on June 9. It could be months before a deal is finalised.
The bio-hacking lord mayor didn’t say why his chief executive had decided to get hands-on when asked on Thursday.
“We go through a very thorough process when it comes to working with council workers … and making sure it’s a collaborative negotiation,” Adrian Schrinner told Circus.
He disputed claims staff in some areas at the council had aired frustrations about perceived cuts and restructuring, saying retention statistics showed it was a great place to work.
James Hall is the News Director at the Brisbane Times. He is the former Queensland correspondent at The Australian Financial Review and has reported for a range of mastheads across the country, specialising on political and finance reporting.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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