Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt has publicly acknowledged a significant failure in oversight surrounding the procurement of the Bureau of Meteorology's controversial $96 million website, labelling it a case study in how not to manage public contracts.
Senate Estimates Grilling Reveals Cost Blowouts
The admission came during a tense Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday, where Greens Senator Barbara Pocock grilled the Bureau's new chief executive, Dr Stuart Minchin, over the project's spiralling costs. Senator Pocock revealed that a single tranche of work awarded to consulting giant Accenture had blown out from an initial $33 million to a staggering $77 million after ten separate contract amendments.
"There are some questions about how this project has been managed," Senator Watt told the committee. He stated that many of the issues predated the arrival of Dr Minchin, his team, and the current Albanese government. "This [website] may well be a contract that demonstrates the need for greater oversight of consultants and greater use of public sector capacity," Watt conceded.
A "Nightmare Case Study" in Contract Management
Senator Pocock did not mince words, describing the procurement process as a "massive feeding on the public sector by the big consulting firms" and a "nightmare case study in contract failure." She expressed deep concern over the lack of accountability and openness surrounding the project's management and costs.
"I don't hear either of you say leadership failed. I think it did," Pocock told the hearing, addressing both Watt and Minchin. "It is shocking how appalling the challenge was met in terms of openness about what went on."
Security Upgrades and a Lack of Contingency
In defence of the expenditure, Dr Minchin, who commenced his role just three weeks ago, explained that while users only interact with the website's front end, a significant portion of the cost was attributed to essential back-end security upgrades. The overhaul was part of the BoM ROBUST program, initiated by the former Coalition government following a 2015 cyber attack.
Dr Minchin noted that overall program costs increased by about 15 per cent, citing rising expenses and pandemic-related delays. He pointed out that no financial contingency was provided for the program when it was first funded. Minister Watt supported this view, arguing the former government should have made contingency plans and appointed more staff to oversee the project.
"To actually only go 15 per cent over despite Covid and the extension of the program overall was seen through reviews as consistent," Watt said. However, the minister's comments underscore a broader policy shift, with the Albanese government actively seeking to reduce reliance on external consultants within the Australian Public Service.
