Queensland government company chair stayed with 'fur-baby' in 'VIPooch' hotel for board meeting

Australia Broadcast Center

6 days ago

The chair of a Queensland government-owned company has faced questions over his stay with his dog in a special five-star "VIPooch" hotel costing $500 a night during a work trip.
The cost of the accommodation for the chairman, his wife and his "fur-baby Vito" at Brisbane's inner-city Ovolo hotel last year was queried by the company's operations director, who feared it was above the state's recommended rate of $181 a night for stays in Brisbane, according to emails sighted by the ABC.
The internal correspondence from Queensland Capacity Network Pty Ltd (QCN) — a subsidiary company of Queensland government power supply corporations — has also revealed how some government energy corporation board members are able to fly business class on internal Queensland flights.
In one case, it was nearly four times the price of economy flights.
The emails were sent between executives and staff at QCN, which is 51 per cent owned by Powerlink — a state government-owned corporation (GOC) — and 49 per cent by Energy Queensland.
QCN sells access to fibre networks on Powerlink's spare telecommunications network along the east coast of Queensland. It seeks to improve digital capacity and data services for customers in remote Queensland communities and is not required to publish any annual report or financial statement.
Some of the emails were sent last year in the lead up to QCN board meetings and reveal how a company employee had been asked to make a special pet hotel booking for QCN chair Greg Young, who was attending a board meeting in Brisbane in November 2024.
The email said Mr Young's booking was "for himself, his wife and their fur baby (Vito)".
Later correspondence confirmed the booking went ahead for the special dog room at Brisbane's five-star Ovolo Hotel in Fortitude Valley.
The hotel's dog room is promoted as the "VIPooch" package, with "luxury pet friendly accommodation" that includes "1 x fur baby", premium grain-free dry dog food, a mealtime mat and water bowl, and "a fun little toy for your dog to keep, because who doesn't love a present".
Dog treats, a super comfy bed and dog-friendly staff are also thrown in.
The booking was to allow Mr Young — who lives on the Sunshine Coast, about 100 kilometres north of Brisbane — to attend a Brisbane board meeting for QCN.
The emails reveal that while the booking was approved last year, Mr Young's request for the same accommodation early this year raised flags with operations director Anne Wilson.
Ms Wilson expressed concern in an email, querying whether the $500 a night rate and accompanying dog met with government guidelines.
"Before we make any bookings, I wanted to flag that in September last year, the government released an updated government domestic travel rates directive (which applies to government departments and GOC's) … as you'll see in the directive the recommended room rate for Brisbane CBD is $181 a night," the email read.
"Given this rate, I'm not sure that the Ovolo, which was $507 last time (with your pet) meets the government's guidelines".
Ms Wilson went on to state: "I am also a little concerned that for government funded travel you might be exposing yourself to scrutiny with QCN paying for you to bring along a pet (which cost an extra $100 per night at the Ovolo)."
She also pointed out measures brought in by the new government.
"Given the new government in Queensland and its focus on government spending, I feel there may be more scrutiny on discretionary spending such as travel and wanted to flag this risk to you,'' she wrote.
The emails also revealed that power company board members were being allowed to fly business class on internal flights within Queensland.
One email sent by Ms Wilson revealed that Powerlink board members were flying business class for domestic travel.
Ms Wilson revealed the policy when she responded to a request from Mr Young to take a return business class flight from Proserpine to Brisbane.
He had requested the business class flight because he was holidaying in the Whitsundays the week of the board meeting and had asked for return flights.
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Ms Wilson replied: "We don't specifically say anything for class of travel domestically so it's up to the CEO, in PQ [Powerlink] the board do travel business class."
One quote for Mr Young's flights revealed that the proposed business class flight was more than $400 dearer for the Proserpine to Brisbane leg, and over $200 higher from Brisbane to Proserpine.
Mr Young declined to comment and referred the ABC's questions to the power company's media team.
A Powerlink spokesperson said Mr Young's travel with his dog involved extenuating circumstances related to "personal family circumstances, which are private".
"This trip, along with all travel done by board members across all three entities, are completed according to the respective government owned corporation's policies,'' he said.
"It's important to note these trips are audited regularly to ensure they are all compliant with these policies.
"We strongly reject the assertions made against him."
The spokesperson said QCN's travel policy allowed directors to fly business class domestically.
He said only one business class trip was claimed in the last year — Mr Young's Proserpine-Brisbane travel.
The Powerlink spokesperson said the government-owned corporation's board travels domestically one to two times a year and flights are a "mixture of economy and business class".
Energy Queensland said its directors other than the chair are booked on economy flights.
A spokesperson for Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki, the shareholding minister in the boards of Powerlink and Energy Queensland, said the government expects "all government-owned corporations to show respect for taxpayers' money and abide by the highest corporate governance practices".
QCN did not respond to questions about what fees board members, including the chair, were paid.
The QCN board meets six times annually and is made up of three independent directors and two member directors.
It has 11 full-time staff.