Key events
Good morning, and happy Tuesday. Another day closer to Christmas. Nick Visser here to take over the blog. Let’s get to it.
Josh Taylor
BoM blames APS caps, Covid for website costs
The Bureau of Meteorology has blamed Covid-era inflation and a Coalition government cap on public service headcount for cost blowouts in the IT project and the use of contractors such as Accenture in its controversial overhaul of the agency’s website.
BoM revealed last month the true cost of its new website to be $96.5m after initially saying the user-facing aspect was just over $4m. It led to calls to explain why the cost had been so high given public outcry over issues with the new site.
The agency’s new CEO, Dr Stuart Minchin, told Senate estimates that the broader $866m IT overhaul program, known as Robust, of which the website accounted for 10% of the budget, was subject to “strict caps” on public sector employees meaning the agency was reliant on vendors and contractors. He said given it was delivered early in the Covid pandemic, that had an impact on labour markets and there was a period of beyond forecast inflation, “which particularly impacted technology costs”.
He said the cost of the website itself “reflects the significant investment required to fully rebuild all the layers of technology and system that underpins the website.”
He said:
We needed to make sure it is secure and stable and can draw in the huge amounts of data gathered from our observing network and weather models as we handle millions of visits each day.
Top super funds hold $33bn in big fossil fuel companies
Luca Ittimani
Australia’s top 30 super funds have a combined $33bn in investments in global companies with major fossil fuel expansion plans, new analysis shows.
Green advocacy group Market Forces found the investments had fallen from the $39bn recorded in December 2023, in part due to holdings in BHP and Woodside falling in value, and were still far more than the $19bn totalled in the group’s 2021 report.
Nearly $6 of every $100 in the average investment option across those super funds was backing major fossil fuel producers, according to the latest report, released on Tuesday.
Just one of the country’s 30 largest super funds had no investments in any major global coal, oil or gas producers: Australian Ethical, which actively excludes companies with substantial fossil fuel revenue.
Funds have maintained their exposure despite fossil fuel investments underperforming major share market indices over the last seven years. The funds have collectively invested less than $10bn in clean energy companies, despite these offering higher returns, according to Market Forces’ estimate.
One Nation threatens Liberals, not just Nationals: Canavan
Luca Ittimani
Matt Canavan, the Nationals backbench MP, has warned rising popularity of One Nation threatens the Liberal party as well as the National party.
The junior Coalition partner last week faced the departure of its former leader, Barnaby Joyce, who has hinted he may join Pauline Hanson’s increasingly popular rightwing minor party.
Canavan said One Nation was threatening the Coalition not only in rural seats but also in outer suburban Australia, which is typically represented by Liberals more often than Nationals. He told the ABC’s 7.30 :
Pauline Hanson started her career [and] is from the outer suburbs of Brisbane. There’s a misconception that somehow One Nation is just or only a regional, country phenomenon … The discontent we’re seeing across Australia is very much concentrated in our outer suburbs, and yes, in our larger regional cities.
Canavan also praised his ally and former employer as an effective politician and mourned his departure from the National party.
I’m disappointed in that, expressed that disappointment to Barnaby, to no avail.
Read more on Joyce’s move here, from political editor Tom McIlroy:
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Nick Visser with the main action.
Matt Canavan, the Nationals backbench MP, told ABC’s 7.30 last night that the rising popularity of One Nation threatens the Liberal party as well as the National party because it could take outer suburban seats from the former as well as regional ones from the latter. More details coming up.
And the Bureau of Meteorology has defended the cost of IT upgrades, including a revamped website which has drawn criticism from users, at a Senate hearing. Lots more on that soon too.
