Senior health officials outed in wake of Joel Barlow affair

THREE Queensland Health officials have been suspended over the Joel Barlow affair, as Premier Anna Bligh tries to contain fallout.

THREE senior Queensland Health officials have been suspended over the Joel Barlow embezzlement affair, as Premier Anna Bligh struggles to contain the fallout from the alleged multi-million-dollar fraud.

The trio, while not implicated in the potentially record swindle, were responsible for finance systems that failed as Mr Barlow allegedly plundered up to $16 million in grant funds.

Ms Bligh's woes intensified yesterday when Liberal National Party leader Campbell Newman met public sector union boss Alex Scott, fuelling speculation that the union might back the LNP at the next state election.

Mr Scott's union, Together, attacked the suspensions as a "trashing of natural justice", and accused the government of trying to shift attention away from its management of problem-plagued Queensland Health.

Together represents about 40,000 state public servants in Queensland and is not affiliated to the ALP.

"These workers have had their reputations dragged through the mud because a desperate government is looking for someone to blame other than themselves," Mr Scott said.

Stood down yesterday, pending internal investigations into the alleged fraud, were Queensland Health's general manager of finance, the systems manager (finance solutions) of its finance branch and the manager of assessments in the ethical standards unit.

Mr Barlow was remanded in custody after facing court on Tuesday on a charge of dishonestly obtaining $11m from Queensland Health on November 17.

Prior to this, it was revealed that Queensland's Crime and Misconduct Commission had received information in August last year about Queensland Health's finances, which was forwarded to the department's ethical standards unit and police.

No one twigged at that time to the alleged fraud, even though details of nearly $4m worth of payments to a business allegedly owned by Mr Barlow were published in Queensland Health accounts over the past three years.

Queensland Health director-general Tony O'Connell said there "had clearly been a failure of finance systems" within the department, and the responsible managers could not remain in place until this was investigated.

He cited "very serious concern" at why the ethical standards unit had not identified the alleged fraud last year.