Nationals leader calls for Bureau of Meteorology probe after website debacle
Nationals leader David Littleproud is calling for an investigation into the Bureau of Meteorology’s revamped website following a raft of complaints.
The changes announced last week sparked public outcry, with many people criticizing the website for being less user-friendly.
Other allegedly important functionality had been removed to narrow down the results, and some parts of the site were not working.
Describing the situation as a “joke”, Mr Littleproud warned on Wednesday it was dangerous for regional Australia as parts of the country entered the wet season.
“The bureau has been riddled with errors and mistakes for a number of years,” he told Sky News.
“Basically their business model was to screw things up and ask for more money, and that’s all they really did.
“Even though they predicted a drought last year, many farmers evacuated all their animals, crashing the market, and then we had one of the best seasons we’ve ever had just by running a website.
“The Bureau of Meteorology is losing currency in regional Australia and across the country.”
Addressing specific issues around radar tracking, Mr Littleproud said he thought it would at least be “tested” but ideally improved.
“So, I don’t think it’s rocket science, but unfortunately the bureau can’t seem to streamline its actions, whether it’s a simple website or some guesswork,” Mr. Littleproud said.
In an earlier statement, he said he had written to Environment Minister Murray Watt to order a review of the bureau’s website and “consider bringing back the essential tools that farmers and rural communities rely on”.
More to come
