Payroll probe told of email to IBM staff

A former IBM employee was sent an email containing details of Queensland Health's needs just as the tech giant was negotiating to secure the health payroll contract.

The Health Payroll Inquiry has resumed this morning in Brisbane with former IBM executive Jason Cameron returning to the stand to give details of his role in the finalisation of the 2007 contract won by IBM.

The health payroll system imploded soon after installation in 2010 in a financial controversy now expected to cost the Queensland tax payer $2 billion.

The inquiry has heard Mr Cameron was with IBM until 2010 but was also seconded to the State Government in-house technical outfit CorpTech in 2005 while remaining with IBM.

Mr Cameron often communicated with Damon Atzeni, a member of the government's contract evaluation team which eventually selected IBM.

He has faced suggestions from Counsel Assisting Peter Flanagan, SC, that he helped IBM secure an advantage in the contract negotiations.

Mr Flanagan this morning returned the inquiry's attention to a crucial email sent by Mr Atzeni to Mr Cameron providing details of Queensland Health's needs regarding the contract.

The email, sent in April 2007, was not sent to other companies also competing for the contract and marked "for your eyes only."

"I don't remember opening the document," Mr Cameron said.

Mr Cameron said he did not request the email.

"You knew it was confidential didn't you?" Mr Flanagan said.

Mr Cameron said, relevant to his role in Queensland Health, he believed the email contained information which could be legitimately passed on to him.

"Based on my role I believe that was a document Damon could validly have passed on to me," he said.

The inquiry continues.

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Questions dog MP over role, wife's email

Redcliffe MP Scott Driscoll arrives at the LNP meeting. Queensland Liberal National Party meeting. Picture: Mark Calleja Source: The Courier-Mail

A LIBERAL National Party MP has been using his electorate office as a secret base to direct the operations of an industry lobby group that has been paying his wife's company $350,000 a year for management services.

Redcliffe MP Scott Driscoll installed dedicated phone lines and computer equipment in his electorate office last year that staff used to conduct the business of the Queensland Retail Traders and Shopkeepers Association.

Today's revelations follow The Courier-Mail's exposure yesterday of Mr Driscoll's secret control of a taxpayer-funded community association that paid almost $120,000 into Norsefire, a company owned by his wife Emma and directed until recently by Mr Driscoll, for consultancy work.

But Premier Campbell Newman yesterday said he had not seen anything to show Mr Driscoll had a case to answer.

The Courier-Mail has learnt media officers in Mr Newman's office provided help to Mr Driscoll to respond to media questions concerning allegations of impropriety.

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RELATED COVERAGE
TODAY: Newman continues to defend Driscoll
TODAY: Premier's spin doctors massaged Driscoll's message
MONDAY: Newman says LNP have been looking at Driscoll "for some time"
MONDAY: Driscoll faced all-night grilling by LNP chiefs after The Courier-Mail report

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The newspaper can also reveal details of the MP's triple life since being elected, secretly maintaining his old job as head of the retailers' body.

RETAIL ROLE: Liberal National Party MP for Redcliffe Scott Driscoll

In statements to the media last month Mr Driscoll said he had had "no operational involvement" in the QRTSA since he had been elected, declaring to Parliament only that he was a "member" of the "United Retail Federation" (URF) - a trading name used by the QRTSA.

Emails and other correspondence show Mr Driscoll has overseen all of the QRTSA's operations, even dictating the wording of a letter - issued by the body's auditor last month in response to media reports - that stated QRTSA financial records were in order.

The Courier-Mail has also established:

• Mr Driscoll and his former electorate officer Ben Scott had signatory powers over the QRTSA's bank accounts until three weeks ago.
• Mr Driscoll and Mr Scott obtained the powers on April 20, 2011 but there is no evidence of the QRTSA's executive committee having met that day.
• A Land Rover Discovery owned by the QRTSA was transferred to Mr Driscoll's wife last month, along with QRTSA mobile phones and fuel cards, to be offset against amounts said to be owing to Norsefire.
• A Honda CRV owned by QRTSA was transferred to Norsefire to offset money owed to Norsefire.
• Multiple drafts of minutes exist of a key meeting in April 2011 at which Mr Driscoll claims to have gained authority to sell the QRTSA's office building and a final version was only agreed two months ago.
• $110,000 given to the QRTSA by IGA store owners to represent them in a trading hours case and now in dispute was in fact used to pay debts owed to Norsefire without IGA's knowledge.

Mr Driscoll also routinely used his parliamentary email to direct QRTSA operations.

In one of these emails on July 29 last year to Mr Scott, he instructed him to "1 Finalise all documentation including accountant and auditor reports for URF for me to view and amend and/or sign off on Monday 6 August ... 2 Liaise re commencing and completing the de-amalgamation submission ... 3 Move any final items from URF and set up telephones and computers ... 4 Bring up URF alcohol bottles from your car".

Mr Driscoll told The Courier-Mail last month "the majority"' of the proceeds of the $550,000 sale of the QRTSA building on Brisbane's northside, organised by him in September 2011, were used to "pay down historical debts and a business overdraft".

Scott Driscoll's business world.

But documents show Bank of Queensland instructed lawyers this month to demand repayment by the QRTSA of a $110,000 overdraft, a debt that has been outstanding for years.

Mr Driscoll's wife Emma became "interim secretary" of the QRTSA in September and Bruce Mills, an associate of Mr Driscoll's, its president, in September, under an arrangement sanctioned by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission. The QIRC also issued a ruling forgiving any previous "invalidities" in the QRTSA's governance.

The Courier-Mail understands Metcash, which owns the IGA brand, has handed a dossier detailing its dealings with Mr Driscoll to Brad Henderson, the State Director of the LNP. Metcash has declined to answer questions from The Courier-Mail.

Mr Driscoll and Mr Mills did not respond to requests for comment. Mrs Driscoll could not be reached.

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RELATED COVERAGE
TODAY: Newman continues to defend Driscoll
TODAY: Premier's spin doctors massaged Driscoll's message
MONDAY: Newman says LNP have been looking at Driscoll "for some time"
MONDAY: Driscoll faced all-night grilling by LNP chiefs after The Courier-Mail report

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IBM sent email to payroll contract worker

A FORMER public servant who helped evaluate the Health payroll contract can't explain why he received an email from the successful applicant, the tech giant IBM.

Shaurin Ranjanikant Shah, who was employed as an Implementation Project Manager with the State Government outfit CorpTech, was shown the email while on the witness stand at the Payroll Inquiry on Friday.

The inquiry is examining why the former Labor Government granted IBM the contract which left the Health Department with a deeply flawed payroll system, expected to cost the Queensland tax payer $1.2 billion.

Counsel Assisting Peter Flanagan, SC, asked why IBM would have any need to email a person tasked with evaluating whether it should win the contract.

"Have you any explanation for why IBM would email you?'' Mr Flanagan asked.

"Absolutely not,'' Mr Shah replied.

Mr Shah said it was possible IBM obtained his government work email because it was a simple one based on his name.

The inquiry has been told Terry Burns, a former IBM employee who worked for the government during the contract negotiations, was a significant figure in the lead up to IBM's success.

"Did you participate with Mr Burns in discussions with IBM on the way they would structure their price?'' Mr Flanagan asked.

"Absolutely not,'' Mr Shah replied.

Mr Shah also told the commission that despite having input into the costings of the contract, he did not remember the ticket price of the IBM offer.

"Can you give the commission an estimate?" asked Mr Flanagan.

"I don't remember, honestly.''

Mr Shah said pricing was a complex process with some figures only referring to phase one of the project.

Pricing information was also quarantined from each evaluation team during the process so as not to bias their evaluations.

Mr Shah strongly disputed Mr Flanagan's suggestion that the evaluation teams had put IT firm Accenture slightly ahead of IBM during the evaluation process.

"No, I am sorry that is not my opinion,'' he said.

Mr Shah suggested there was some confusion about the evaluation process.

He said each team was sent off to do separate evaluations without knowledge of each other's progress.

The teams didn't get together and compare costing, Mr Shah said: "it was not like cricket scoring.''

He said he had no recollection of Mr Burns asking the teams to re-assess their evaluations.

Commissioner Richard Chesterman, QC, suggested Mr Shah would have been affronted if such a request had been made.

"Absolutely Mr Commisisoner, yes," Mr Shah replied.

"This is against probity.''

The inquiry continues.

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