Shocking true cost of BOM’s disaster website revealed at $96 million

Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud said there should be consequences after revelations the Bureau of Meteorology’s (BOM) unpopular new website cost millions of dollars more than previously thought, with the actual cost at $96 million.

Mr Littleproud said the sheer waste of money requires a review.

“It is unbelievable a private consultancy was paid $78 million to redesign the website, but then security and system testing meant that Australian taxpayers actually paid $96 million for what was nothing more than another Labor disaster,” 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.

“The new platform did not allow people to enter GPS coordinates for their specific property locations, restricting searches to towns or postcodes.

“Families and farmers could not access vital, localised data such as river heights and rainfall information and this missing data created panic and fear across communities.

“But now, the fact the BOM has been hiding the true cost of its white elephant and initially lying about the total figure is deeply concerning, considering that the BOM should be all about trust.”

Mr Littleproud added that unfortunately, the BOM has been littered with errors and mistakes for some years now.

“Their business model is to mess up and then ask for more money. It is actually a safety matter and a financial issue, in terms of livestock and machinery, that has enormous impacts during floods and storms.

“Let’s not forget the BOM predicted the East Coast was going to have a drought, creating panic where a whole lot of farmers offloaded all their livestock. We then had one of the best seasons we have ever had. This was devastating for farmers who had already sold everything. The BOM’s mistakes are unforgiveable because people’s livelihoods depend on the accuracy of their information.

“When government failure destroys lives, serious questions need to be answered. Australians deserve to know how this latest disaster unfolded. The BOM is sadly losing the currency that it has in regional Australia and right across the country and it only has itself to blame.”