FORMER director general of public works Mal Grierson says he viewed the task of implementing the failed Queensland Health payroll system as a "hospital pass" and knew "from day one" it was a "risky project".
The long-serving senior public servant has also told today's session of the Queensland Payroll Inquiry that canning IBM's contract was "not an option" even though others had made it clear they had "lost faith" in the IT giant's ability to deliver the system without major issues.
The inquiry on Tuesday heard that recurring problems dogged the development of the system throughout its lifespan, including constant disputes over the scope of the project, which left Mr Grierson "frustrated".
The payroll system left thousands of employees underpaid or overpaid after it went live in 2010, with the debacle estimated to cost the state as much as $1.2 billion.
Mr Grierson said it was evident that retaining the existing system and scrapping IBM's work was "the biggest risk" in the years before the go-live date.
He also admitted to having never actually read IBM's contract, saying it was "impossible" for him at the time to read and examine the countless contracts that involved his department.
He said he did not read the specific scope document and that he never definitively ordered a freeze on changes to the scope.
"There is a legitimate place for changes - if change happens, changes happen," he said, later adding: "I knew that you can never do that."
The inquiry heard that new changes would often emerge after a "lockdown" in scope.
"Certainly, I was frustrated," the former director general said.
Mr Grierson dismissed suggestions he should have done more to intervene directly during the process.
"I did take steps, I did take responsibility," he said.
By September 2009, a number of defects in the system had been detected, with advice provided to Mr Grierson claiming that it was "not uncommon".
He said those who did raise concerns about the defects were often not familiar with the process of developing an IT project.
"Nobody ever said to me that the code IBM were writing was of poor quality," he said.
Mr Grierson said terminating IBM's contract would have set back the system by "months, if not years", with its replacement likely to have to "start all over again".
He said he viewed the doomed project as a "hospital pass".
"I can recall that in a meeting with (former Queensland Health Director General Michael Reid) I referred to it as a 'hospital pass' - no pun intended - to get this thing," he said.
"It was a view that we hold... that we have... You get lots of jobs that you don't particularly want and I'm sure that Mick Reid didn't want this either. Payroll is not something that a director general normally regards as a key issue, it's a bread and butter issue in an agency."
Mr Grierson said he was concerned with "getting a new payroll in and getting on with life".
The inquiry continues.
