Australia news live: Canavan warns of One Nation threat to Liberals; BoM blames Covid for IT cost blowout | Australia news
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josh taylor
BoM withdraws IT cost boom claim
Greens senator Barbara Pocock The BoM IT project was described in Senate estimates on Monday night as “a nightmarish handbasket case study in contract failure and the management of contracts”.
BoM CEO, Doctor Stuart Minchin He said the Robust program had passed multiple finance department reviews and reviews by the Digital Transformation Agency, and that the 15% cost increase to $866 million was “within the expectations of major technology projects.”
He said:
No contingency was provided for this program when it was initially funded. So in fact, despite Covid, only a 15% increase and general extension of the program was seen as consistent in these reviews.
Minister of Environment, Murray WattHe said that the government took the issue seriously and that the contracts awarded to Accenture were examined as part of the revision of the website.
This could be a contract that sets out the need for greater oversight of consultants and greater use of public sector capacity wherever possible.
BoM chief information officer, Nichole Brinsmead, He said the BoM needed to understand the complexity of old legacy systems and what rebuilding would entail, and that he did not think the contracts were “as poorly managed as you think”.
We actually had pretty strong management over the projects. There were contract managers, there were steering committees, there were meetings with vendors, there were project control groups with external members, and then we also had eight gateway reviews and external DTA reviews, and they were all frustrated with how these contracts were being managed.
And at no time did we receive any comments or recommendations from these reviews regarding how we manage these contracts.
Good morning and happy Tuesday. We are one day closer to Christmas. Nick Visser I’m here to take over the blog. Let’s get to the point.
josh taylor
BoM blames APS limits and Covid for website costs
The Bureau of Meteorology has blamed Covid-era inflation and the Coalition government’s public service headcount cap for cost blowouts on the IT project and the use of contractors such as Accenture in a controversial overhaul of the agency’s website.
BoM revealed last month that the actual cost of the new website was $96.5 million, after initially saying the user-facing aspect was just over $4 million. It has led to calls explaining why the cost is so high, given the public outcry over issues with the new site.
The new CEO of the agency, Doctor Stuart MinchinHe told the Senate that the broader $866 million IT overhaul program known as Robust, for which the website accounts for 10% of the budget, is subject to “hard caps” on public sector workers, meaning the agency is dependent on vendors and contractors. He said that given it was delivered early in the Covid outbreak, this had an impact on labor markets and a period of inflation beyond forecasts, which “particularly affected technology costs”.
He said the cost of the website “reflects the significant investment required to completely rebuild all layers of technology and systems that support the website.”
He said:
We needed to make sure it was secure, stable, and that we could use the large amounts of data collected from our observation network and weather models while handling millions of visits every day.
Top super funds have $33 billion in big fossil fuel companies
Luca Ittimani
New analysis shows Australia’s 30 largest super funds have invested a combined $33 billion in global companies with major fossil fuel expansion plans.
green advocacy group Market Forces It found that investments fell partially from the $39 billion recorded in December 2023. BHP And forest side Its value is falling and is still much higher than the $19 billion total in the group’s 2021 report.
About $6 of every 100 of the average investment option in these super funds backed major fossil fuel producers, according to the latest report released Tuesday.
Only one of the country’s 30 largest super funds had no investments in any of the global coal, oil or gas producers: Australian EthicsWe actively exclude companies with significant fossil fuel revenue.
The funds have maintained their holdings despite fossil fuel investments underperforming major stock market indexes over the past seven years. The funds have collectively invested less than $10 billion in clean energy companies, even though they offer higher returns, Market Forces estimates.
One Nation threatens not only the Nationals but also the Liberals: Canavan
Luca Ittimani
Matt CanavanThe Nationals’ backbench MP has warned that One Nation’s growing popularity threatens the Liberal party as well as the National party.
The coalition’s junior partner faced the departure of its former leader last week. Barnaby Joyceimplying that one may participate Pauline Hanson small right-wing party that is becoming increasingly popular.
Canavan said One Nation threatened the Coalition not only in rural areas but also in Australia’s outer suburbs; this region is generally represented by the Liberals more often than the Nationals. He told the ABC’s 7.30 programme:
Pauline Hanson started her career [and] From the outer suburbs of Brisbane. There is a misconception that One Nation is somehow just a regional, national phenomenon… The discontent we see in Australia is largely concentrated in our outer suburbs and, yes, larger regional cities.
Canavan also praised his ally and former employer as an effective politician and mourned his departure from the National party.
I was disappointed about this, and I expressed this disappointment to Barnaby, but to no avail.
Read more about Joyce’s move from the political editor Tom McIlroy:
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I Martin Farrer with the best night stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.
Matt Canavan, The Nationals’ backbench MP told the ABC at 7.30 last night that One Nation’s growing popularity threatens the National party as well as the Liberal party, because it could take outer suburban seats from the former and regional seats from the latter. More details are coming.
And the Bureau of Meteorology defended the cost of IT upgrades at a Senate hearing, including a revamped website, which drew criticism from users. There will be much more on this soon.
