Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Water, Senator Watt. Minister, we've had reports from farmers who couldn't track incoming storms to protect their sheep because the new BOM platform failed to load local weather observations, and fishers who couldn't see wind direction or sea state to decide whether to invest their time or whether it was safe. Growers are left to guess the weather when preparing for harvest. How the Labor Party justify spending $96 million on a Bureau of Meteorology website that performs worse than free weather apps, especially when your government claims to care about food security as you launch a free food security council while leaving the very people who produce that food at risk of an underperforming weather app?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Cadell. I'm sure Senator Cadell has noticed the comments I've made about the BOM's handling of its website change. I, along with, I'd say, most other Australians, were pretty unimpressed with the way the BOM handled that. I met with—

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You're in charge!

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am the minister, Senator McKenzie, and that's why, as the minister, I had a meeting at the time with the acting CEO of the BOM and explained that I didn't think their actions and management of this met public expectations. I asked them to consider urgent changes, which they began making within a couple of days of that. They have also indicated that they will be making further changes to that website, which I think is the right thing to do.

Is in terms of the cost of this website upgrade, the BOM's earlier statements to the effect that the cost had been around $4 million were one aspect of this program. They subsequently clarified that there was more to it than just the public-facing website. I do think that they could have been more fulsome, shall we say, in what they said at the time. We've now had—

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Who approved this?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The BOM. They're an independent agency. We don't get in and tell the BOM what the climate is.

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You should!

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We should get in and tell the BOM what the climate is? Right. Ministers should decide what the weather is? Shall I hop on the BOM website and tell them what I reckon the weather is? Honestly, you people!

Firstly, we respect science. Secondly, we respect independent government agencies. Thirdly, we respect the fact that those independent agencies have an obligation to spend taxpayers' money wisely. That's exactly what I said to the new CEO of the BOM when I met with him twice in his first fortnight in the job. I'll have a little bit more to say about this in your next question.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cadell, first supplementary?

Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

():  Given those concerns and things you have raised here, Minister, will you commit today to commissioning an independent audit, preferably by ANAO, to investigate the procurement, delivery, testing and performance of this $96 million website? If not, what is this government afraid of?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

():  Well, Senator Cadell, I can appreciate that you wouldn't be aware of this, given you weren't a member of the chamber at the time, but do you know which government commissioned this new website? It was the Turnbull government. So it was the Turnbull government that signed those contracts about that new website, I'm sorry to inform you. The work continued over a number of years, but this goes back to the Turnbull government, followed by the Morrison government.

What I did as soon as I became aware of the problems with this website was to meet with the acting CEO, explain my displeasure and ask for urgent changes to be made, which occurred. I've met twice with the new CEO of the BOM, including on his very first day in the job, to outline my concerns and the need for him to get on top of them, and I have confidence that the new CEO of the BOM is taking these matters seriously and will properly investigate them.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cadell, second supplementary?

Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We would very much prefer an audit, because this side has nothing to hide in this process. Minister, if the bureau and the government can't even manage a rollout of a website, why should Australians trust the government's big systems reforms right across the food security network, energy and the environment?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, I can tell you what Australian farmers don't need. They don't need an alternative government that doesn't believe in climate change. They don't need an alternative government that says: 'We don't need to do anything about emissions. We don't need to worry about the fact that droughts are more likely, that floods are more likely and that cyclones are more likely and about impact on agriculture.'

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Watt, had you concluded? Are you sitting down? Senator Cadell.

Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On direct relevance, this was solely about big system reforms and energy technology.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you. I'll draw the minister back to the government's response.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Returning to the matter at hand, as I've said a number of times now—not just here today but also in the media on several occasions over the last couple of weeks—I'm not happy about how the BOM has handled this matter. We do have a new CEO in place who brings a very strong record in managing large, complex science based organisations. I have confidence that he will, as I have requested, get to the bottom of what has happened here to ensure that taxpayers' money is spent wisely, whether it be by this government or by former Turnbull government ministers when they signed off on these contracts in the first place.