Government Defends $96 Million BOM Website: "That's Actually Pretty Cheap For A Consultancy Firm"

EFFIE BATEMAN | Lifestyle | Contact

The Australian Government has today doubled down on its decision to spend $96 million on the new Bureau of Meteorology website, insisting the price was actually 'a steal' by consultancy standards and that taxpayers should be grateful it wasn’t higher.

Speaking to The Advocate, head account manager on the project Ben Rivers described the $96 million price tag as the 'budget option' of a government tech build - noting that similar projects in other states have cost upwards of $200 million, “and that was just for the homepage.”

“In consultancy terms, even getting something to work for ten minutes counts as exceptional value for money,” Rivers explained.

“The fact that this project came in under $100 million is honestly a miracle."

Rivers went on to explain that Australians simply don’t understand the complexity involved in making a website that can tell them it’s raining outside, revealing that it took three account managers and fourteen graphic designers to pick the font alone.

“People think you can just pick Arial and walk away. It doesn’t work like that."

He added that the final cost may actually come in under budget, as the firm only used 1200 contractors instead of the proposed 2500.

Rivers confirmed that any remaining bugs will be patched in the next scheduled update, pending a further $40 million.

More to come.