EU votes to split Google; Qld pursues IBM over payroll losses; NICTA CEO quits

Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte has quit as CEO of National ICT Australia (NICTA) over a dispute with the organisation's board about NICTA's future.

A statement from NICTA said Durrant-Whyte and the board had "differences of opinion regarding the strategies and governance structures required to secure the medium and long term future of the organisation" and that "these differences were unlikely to be resolved".

Specifically, the dispute surrounded "the role of the CEO and the Board in determining alternatives for the future of the organisation beyond June 2016", the organisation claimed.

Federal funding for NICTA will reportedly not extend beyond June 2016, meaning the organisation will have to rely more heavily on funding from other sources.

Fairfax reported that growing tensions between Durrant-Whyte and the board came to a head when Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel visited NICTA's Sydney lab following the November 2014 G20 summit.

According to Fairfax, both the Abbott government and the NICTA board opposed Merkel's visit to the NICTA lab, but Durrant-Whyte went ahead with the event anyway.

A NICTA spokesperson has reportedly denied that the board was opposed to Merkel's tour, saying that board member Mary O'Kane was with Chancellor Merkel during the visit.

NICTA Chair Neville Stevens said: "Under Hugh’s leadership, NICTA has continued to grow its research excellence and is internationally recognised as one of the premier ICT research centres in the world."

Durrant-Whyte will remain with NICTA until early 2015 to assist in the transition to a new CEO. Until Durrant-Whyte's successor is found, Duane Zitzner, a member of NICTA's International Business Advisory Group and a one-time executive VP at Hewlett-Packard, will act as CEO.

Queensland government to pursue IBM over payroll losses

The Queensland government will lodge a statement of claim against IBM Australia as it tries to recover losses from the previous government's billion-dollar payroll debacle, the ABC has reported.

In 2010, the previous Queensland government introduced an IBM-based payroll system that went hundreds of millions of dollars over budget and bungled payments to thousands of public servants.

The project was initially expected to cost $6.19 million but more recent estimates place the ultimate cost at more than $1 billion.

Late last year the current Queensland government banned IBM from any future state contracts.

Now, the government is lodging a statement of claim against IBM Australia.

"Queenslanders were wronged, we believe, in the pay affair, and we intend to do what we can to recover money - for them, the taxpayers, the men and women and Queensland," the ABC quoted Queensland Premier Campbell Newman as saying.

ITnews reports that the Queensland government has hired corporate law firm Minter Ellison to argue its case against IBM.

European parliament votes to split Google

The European parliament has approved a motion that suggests splitting Google up into its constituent businesses.

The Guardian reported that the motion calls for tougher regulation of internet search and encourages the European Commission to consider unbundling Google's search business from its other businesses.

The motion passed 384 votes to 174 with 56 MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) abstaining.

It's worth noting that the parliament does not have the power to order such a split directly, but it can apply pressure to the European Commission, which has regulatory powers over companies that operate in Europe.

Authors of the motion have also reportedly downplayed the suggestion of splitting Google, saying that a split is only one of several options proposed in the motion.

Image courtesy Carlos Luna under CC