Qld health payroll damage bill grows again

The Queensland opposition is making no apologies for pursuing legal action against IBM after a court ordered the government to pay costs in a failed case.

The tech giant was accused of misrepresenting its capability to deliver a new payroll system on time and on budget in legal action launched by the Newman Liberal National Party government in 2013.

That decision was made despite IBM having been granted an iron-clad agreement from the Bligh Labor government in 2010 that, upon the system's failure, the contract would not end and all rights to take legal action would be relinquished.

The Supreme Court last year upheld IBM's subsequent legal challenge and on Monday Justice Glenn Martin ordered the state pay IBM costs incurred by proceeding on an indemnity basis.

One legal industry source estimated the cost of the case to be as high as $3 million.

The entire saga has been estimated to ultimately cost taxpayers $1.2 billion.

But acting Opposition Leader John-Paul Langbroek placed blame back at Labor's feet, saying the bungle was the hallmark of an appalling administration.

"We will not apologise for trying to recover the $1.2 billion in taxpayers' money lost under the Bligh Labor Government," he said.

A 2013 government-commissioned inquiry into the failure, which added another $5 million to the bill, was critical of IBM.

It found the company had solicited and received information during the tender process that gave it a distinct advantage over its competitors.

IBM should never have won the contract in the first place, Commissioner Richard Chesterman concluded.

The company accepted some responsibility for the failure but also argued it had been hindered by "business process and data migration issues" outside its control.

The initial contract blew out from $6.19 million to $25.7 million.

Former Labor Premier Anna Bligh told the inquiry the offer to relinquish rights to sue was "motivated by a practical desire to see it fixed rather than a political desire for vengeance".

In August 2013, LNP premier Campbell Newman told parliament there was no way the state could seek damages.

Instead, the party blacklisted the company.

But in late 2014, the LNP confirmed it would launch a case against the tech giant - a move IBM dismissed as an attempt to "rewrite history".