Sunrise host Natalie Barr has slammed the Bureau of Meteorology over its bungled website redesign, after the project’s cost ballooned from an expected $4million to a staggering $96.5million.
The cost explosion, revealed by the BoM, includes $78million paid to a private consultancy, plus more than $12million in security testing, despite widespread criticism that the redesigned site is less functional than the original.
New BoM CEO Dr Stuart Minchin acknowledged the total cost of the redesign, completed under former chief Dr Andrew Johnson, was significantly higher than expected.
‘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.
Barr was furious, blasting the staggering figure live on Sunrise on Monday morning.
‘It sounds funny until you realise it is our money – actual taxpayer money – while people are counting every penny at Coles,’ Barr said.
‘Can we get some kind of refund?’
Barr asked the Albanese Government’s Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek whether the cost could be justified.
Nat Barr fumes over $96.5m taxpayer-funded website: ‘People are struggling to buy groceries!’
Tanya Plibersek hit back, insisting the blowout began under the previous Coalition government, saying the entire back-end system needed rebuilding due to cyber-attack risks
‘If someone wants to spend more than the GDP of a small island nation on the rebuild of a website, does that need to go to the Minister for approval or can they just sign the cheque?’
Plibersek said the Bureau was now under new leadership.
‘The BOM has a new CEO and he has been there a week. The Minister met with him twice already to get into the detail of this.’
‘It is really important that we do look at the detail and look at that value for money and functionality.
‘The most important thing is that it works for people when there is an extreme weather event coming.’
‘We know with climate change, these are more frequent and more extreme and less predictable than ever.’
Barr said Australians were furious about the spending amid rising living costs.
‘People are in a cost-of-living crisis, people are counting every penny at Coles and then they see that their tax dollars are going to this. It is so frustrating.’
Plibersek went on to blame the previous government.
The new website that cost more than $96million
The previous website
‘This project started in 2019, under the previous CEO, under the previous government.
‘The reason the whole of the back end of the computer system has had to be rebuilt is because the previous government had information that it was very vulnerable to attack.
‘You can imagine a cyber attack that takes out all of our weather information as storms are approaching – that is a very serious risk to Australian safety.’
‘The fact it has gone over budget and the functionality of it is not good and it is something that the new CEO has to get to the bottom of.’
The BoM confirmed the cost blowout over the weekend.
‘The redevelopment of the Bureau website was part of a large program of work to improve the long-term security, stability and resilience of critical bureau services,’ the spokesperson said.
‘A complete rebuild was necessary to ensure the website meets modern security, usability and accessibility requirements for the millions of Australians who rely on it each day.’
The startling cost admission came after the revamped website sparked a wave of backlash online and on talkback radio just hours after going live last month.
And on October 30, the website’s weather radar crashed as brutal thunderstorms threatened parts of south-east Queensland.
