Public Trustee racks up nearly $517,000 on external reviews since Peter Carne suspension

It has been an expensive year at the Public Trustee of Queensland since the suspension of boss Peter Carne, with a just-released register revealing how much has been spent by the embattled organisation on external reviews.

Peter Carne, who has been suspended as boss of the Public Trustee of Queensland.

CHANGE doesn’t come cheap. Just ask the mandarins trying to reform the chronically-dysfunctional Public Trustee of Queensland.

In the year since boss Peter Carne was suspended for alleged “misbehaviour,’’ the agency has shelled out nearly $517,000 on external reviews, according to its just-released contracts register.

It shows that Stephen Stavrou, a self-employed consultant who previously spent 26 years with Deloitte, pocketed a whopping $311,025 in September.

In the year since boss Peter Carne was suspended, the Public Trustee has spent nearly $517,000 on external reviews.

Another consulting mob, Bushell & Cornish, were paid $130,414 to spearhead an “organisation governance and structure review’’.

PwC also got in on the action, earning $75,000 for a bit of advice even though KPMG handles the auditing.

A City Beat spy close to the PT told us that there are rumblings that the agency might have its powers as a statutory authority curtailed and it could become just another arm of the Department of Justice.

Meanwhile, the Crime and Corruption Commission has wrapped up a probe of Carne, although the results have not been made public.

Carne, who continues to earn a $385,000 annual salary, has steadfastly refused to comment on the unspecified allegations against him. He could not be contacted.

Carne’s contract expires in March next year, making PT insiders wonder whether his suspension will be over before the state election this October.