Inquiry to probe CMC's Fitzgerald blunder

Campbell Newman called on the CMC chairman to consider resigning, saying he's failed the state. Source: AAP

THE Queensland premier has been accused of contempt of parliament for attacking the committee that oversees the state's crime and corruption watchdog.

A public inquiry will be held into errors that saw the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) release, some sensitive files and shred others from the historic Fitzgerald inquiry into police corruption.

Premier Campbell Newman has called on CMC chairman Ross Martin to consider resigning, saying he's failed the state.

He's also accused the bipartisan Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee (PCMC), which has oversight of the CMC, of being asleep at the wheel.

"The PCMC are the watchdogs and they've become a lap dog," Mr Newman told reporters.

"They are the ones who allowed the CMC to shred documents, to inadvertently release documents, to fail to correct the situation and then were not properly kept informed about the situation."

MP Alex Douglas - a former PCMC chairman who quit the government last year after saying he was thrown off parliament's ethics committee - said the premier had committed contempt.

He said the committee's current chair, fellow independent Liz Cunningham, should immediately demand a retraction from the premier.

If he failed to retract, Ms Cunningham should go to Governor Penelope Wensley to say she no longer has confidence in the government, he said.

"That is a direct challenge to the authority of the PCMC chair, who is tasked with maintaining public confidence in the process," Dr Douglas told AAP on Friday.

"She has called a royal commission into the documents issue and the laws of contempt apply.

"If I was Liz Cunningham I would take action."

AAP has sought comment from Ms Cunningham.

Both the premier and Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie have been accused of trying to be judge, juror and executioner after they attacked Mr Martin over his handling of the documents bungle.

Both have said he should resign, despite the fact that the PCMC's public inquiry, which has royal commission powers, is yet to report back on the bungle.

Mr Newman said Mr Martin should be held to account in the same way ministers were, and ministers had resigned over much more trivial matters.

"My concern is we have a senior important public servant who doesn't seem to understand his responsibility or his accountability to the people of Queensland," he said.

There is no sign Mr Martin has any intention of doing as the premier has suggested.

Asked for a response to the premier's comments on Friday, a CMC spokeswoman told AAP, "Mr Martin remains the chair of the CMC".

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said the premier and the attorney-general had failed to adhere to the legal principle of innocent until proven guilty.

"The LNP government is acting as judge and jury on Mr Martin," she said.

"If this attack on the CMC chair continues, then Queenslanders should start questioning the LNP government's real agenda."

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