In an estimates hearing in parliament on Friday, Open Data Minister Steve Minnikin of the LNP blamed the previous Labor administration for the contract.<\/p>\n
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Steve Minnikin has blamed the Cryptoloc saga on the former Labor government. (AAP image: Darren England)<\/p>\n
Mr Minnikin also raised the issue of Cryptoloc entities having donated money to Labor events, but did not mention the LNP had also been a donor recipient.<\/p>\n
“The [previous] government announced the awarding of the cybersecurity tender just hours before the election caretaker period began,” he told the estimates hearing.<\/p>\n
“It took one briefing \u2026 from my department, within a week or two of me taking office, for me to realise that something just wasn’t right.”<\/p>\n
Cyber entrepreneur files for bankruptcy after government contract collapse<\/a><\/p>\n Cryptoloc shut down operations in December, months after being awarded a $15 million Queensland government contract.<\/p>\n He said there was an “amber flag” alongside the company’s ability to make ongoing payments.<\/p>\n Mr Minnikin, who submitted an article from the ABC and The Courier-Mail, also questioned how the Labor had in 2023 initially allocated about $5 million to the proposed cybersecurity project.<\/p>\n But Mr Minnikin argued then-Treasurer Cameron Dick had upped the amount by $10 million in the next Budget in 2024 to total $15 million.<\/p>\n This was flagged in budget papers as being part of creating “a thriving, resilient small business sector”.<\/p>\n Mr Minnikin argued there were “questions that need serious answers from opposition members”.<\/p>\n “The release of Labor’s last budget brought the total commitment to $15 million, and that’s less than four months before announcing the contract.<\/p>\n