By Jo Nova
Just when you think they can’t possibly squander money more extravagantly…
We were told it was $4 million but the truth is that the BoM spent $96 million dollars of our money to make their workable website truly awful. They just forgot to mention the private consultation by Accenture Australia for seventy eight million dollars.
It could have happened to anyone, right? Wrong.
The staggering TRUTH about the weather bureau’s disastrous website redesign – as boss finally admits the eye-watering real cost
Paul Shapiro, The Daily Mail
Now, the federal government’s weather agency is again on the back foot after it was revealed the loathed app cost taxpayers $96million to redesign and launch.
New bureau chief Dr Stuart Minchin has admitted that the total cost of the redesign, completed under his predecessor Dr Andrew Johnson, was much higher.
‘I’ve looked into it. The total cost, when you add the Accenture work, the security testing and everything else, it’s about $96million,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
The new website changed the way the rain radars measured rainfall, and was dropped on Australians facing serious storms. The backlash was so bad, the BOM promised to bring back the old rain radar system.
David Littleproud tore strips of the BoM:
‘It is unbelievable a private consultancy was paid $78million to redesign the website, but then security and system testing meant that Australian taxpayers actually paid $96 million,’ Mr Littleproud said.
‘The seriousness of this cannot be understated. This isn’t just about a clunky website, the changes actually put lives and safety at risk.
It’s hard to believe they did a 15 month beta trial and the community “loved it”. Presumably they tested it on their own kids, and their friends at the ABC, but not on the people who’s lives depend upon the weather reports — the farmers, firefighters and fishermen?
In the spirit of the best Soviet production, the new site reeks of condescension, panders to woke ideology, treats everyone like they are in primary school and destroyed 10 million hours of productivity across the country by forcing millions of people who already knew the site to have to learn an entirely new architecture. All the knowledge Australians had built up on how to navigate the BOM data was tossed to the wind.
The BoM treats Australians as though their time is worthless and their money is infinite.
The only good thing about the new site is that the old site is still there. See reg.bom.gov.au.
…
Commenters at the Daily Mail were aghast that the BOM could spend so much on software.
FlowerPower says:
$100 million just thrown away into some greedy corporation’s pockets. This was taxpayers money. Who approach fee? Even more so when the original budget was only $4 million. I bet this has the Labor Party behind it somewhere? Ready to steal the glory….
The New Zealand upgrade to their Metservice cost $1.7 million dollars. Perhaps it wasn’t as awful? Kiwis may like to comment.
As I said then, bring back the old site….
ht Jon Rattin, David E., and apologies to another commenter who left the first tip about the cost blowout. I can’t find that comment!