The Queensland Opposition has accused the government of stopping the release of information about an explosion at Callide Power Station to "cover it up".
One of the generators at the power plant in Central Queensland will be offline until the end of May after a blast on April 4.
Energy Minister David Janetzki failed to mention the incident in a major address a week ago, despite being briefed about the incident the day it happened.
He later conceded he should have made a public announcement.
Today, the government released documents from the station's operator, CS Energy, outlining the timeline of events following the explosion.
Among them were two draft media releases from the day of the blast and the day after, neither of which were published.
Each outlined details of the incident, including how long the generator would be offline — information that was not made public for another four days.
The draft media release from the day of the explosion noted a generator was offline after scheduled maintenance to remove a coal clinker, or hardened ash, from a wall.
"This resulted in a release of gas from the furnace in the boiler house, causing damage to cladding and lagging in the area," it said.
"No-one was in the area at the time of the event and the affected area remains off-limits as a precautionary measure."
The next day's draft media release stated the generator would be back online by May 30.
"Callide Power Station's other three generating units, as well as Kogan Creek Power Station, are all online and available to support Queensland's energy needs," it said.
Briefing notes to the government on the day of the incident described it as an "uncontrolled release of gas" and "common practice".
According to notes from the following week, CS Energy was treating it with the "utmost seriousness", describing the clinker detaching as a "pressure spike".
"This pressure event dislodged insulation and cladding materials from the boiler walls, causing damage to adjacent platforms," the notes said.
'Who was responsible?'
Over the weekend, the government accused CS Energy of failing "to communicate the seriousness of the incident".
The CEO and station manager have since left their roles.
CS Energy directed questions put to them to the treasurer's office.
Shadow Treasurer Shannon Fentiman said it was an "extraordinary attempt" to shift blame.
"Who was responsible for telling CS Energy not to put out those media releases?" she asked.
"Who was responsible for covering this up? Was it Premier David Crisafulli, was it David Janetzki, was it Jarrod Bleijie, was it Ros Bates?
"They were all briefed about the explosion at Callide Power Station the day that it happened, but someone decided they would not let Queenslanders know about this explosion."
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie yesterday confirmed he was made aware of the blast on the day.
"My office has a daily briefing from Workplace Health and Safety of incidents, and it basically said that an incident had taken place," he said.
"It didn't go to the extreme because obviously there's an investigation afoot now."
Mr Janetzki has not fronted the media since last Thursday, with Ms Fentiman questioning his absence from the public.
"David Janetzki, it would seem, is still in hiding,"
she said.
"Any claim my office prevented CS Energy from releasing holding statements is categorically false," Mr Janetzki said in a statement this evening.
A spokesperson from his office said "regardless of the gross misrepresentation contained in CS Energy's holding statements, the incident should have been communicated and the minister has now directed that all future incidents are communicated".
The Callide power plant made headlines in 2021 when an explosion at the facility left nearly half a million homes without power.
