SENATE

Wednesday, 1 March 2017 Senate Page 43
Senator KIM CARR: Secretary, would you be able to assist me on that?
Mr Richardson: If it was not covered by the contract, no.
Senator KIM CARR: Does the department monitor those contacts?
Mr Richardson: No.
Senator KIM CARR: You would not be aware of them?
Mr Richardson: Maybe; maybe not. I have never worked for a government where a department has
monitored what a minister's office does or does not do in that sense.
Senator KIM CARR: You are aware, though, of the departmental staff that move between the department
and the contractor?
Dr Lawrence: Yes, a number of departmental staff did move to the contractor as part of the outsourcing deal.
Senator KIM CARR: Was this the sort of concern that you mentioned before, Mr Secretary?
Mr Richardson: No, this is a service provider—it is quite different. The potential conflicts of interest that I
see sit above this.
Senator KIM CARR: Have there been any ministerial staff that have moved between the ministerial office
and the contractor since the contract was awarded?
Dr Lawrence: I am afraid I cannot answer that. Not that I am aware of.
Senator KIM CARR: I am thinking here of Mr Jack Walker. Does the name sound familiar to you?
Mr Richardson: We simply would not know the answer to that.
Senator KIM CARR: Minister, would you be aware of Mr Jack Walker?
Senator Payne: I know who Mr Walker is.
Senator KIM CARR: Is he one of the 'budgie 9' that came to such public prominence in Malaysia recently?
Senator Payne: I would not describe him in that way, but I know who you are referring to.
Senator KIM CARR: How would you describe him then?
Senator Payne: As Mr Jack Walker.
Senator KIM CARR: He did formerly work for the minister, your colleague Mr Pyne?
Senator Payne: I believe so—or I know so. Yes. I am not aware of any of his current activities.
Senator KIM CARR: What interests me here is that we have a contract awarded for half a billion dollars.
Was it in September last year?
Mr Richardson: No.
Dr Lawrence: I have to get my dates right—
Senator KIM CARR: What date was that?
Dr Lawrence: I signed the contract in 2014.
Senator KIM CARR: What was the contract that was awarded in September?
Mr Richardson: The contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin sold that arm of their
business. So what you see in September of last year is simply the transfer from Lockheed Martin to—
Dr Lawrence: The holding company.
Mr Richardson: the company that they sold that arm of their business to.
Senator KIM CARR: I have a contract number here. It is CN3377790. It was a contract period from 7
September 2016 to 2 September 2022.
Dr Lawrence: That was the remaining term of that contract. The original contract I signed in 2014 with
Lockheed Martin Australia. Lockheed Martin Australia sold their ICT business to a company called Leidos.
Leidos incorporated themselves in Australia as Abacus Holdings.
Senator KIM CARR: The date of this current contract—was it renewed?
Dr Lawrence: That would have been the date on which we transferred one contract into the other contract
vehicle.
Senator Payne: That is normal business, Senator.
Senator KIM CARR: And the value of the contract was $549,016—
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE AND TRADE LEGISLATION COMMITTEE