Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The minister raised the Centrelink IT replacement project. We on this side believe it is necessary, but it needs transparency. At recent Senate budget estimates, I think just yesterday, the Department of Human Services officials were unable to explain what was expected in each of the five tranches of the DHS Welfare Payments Infrastructure Transformation project, commonly known as WPIT. Minister, can you explain the tranches, because it is going to be rolled out over time. When is the opposition going to be briefed on this, because our spokesperson, Senator the Hon. Doug Cameron, has not been briefed on it at this stage. We welcome the offer, but when will this take place? How will local content be maximised in this expected $1 billion project? Senator Payne has talked about an advisory group being formed. When is that likely to be formed, who is likely to be on it and how will representatives of the community welfare sector be involved? It is very important that the voice of the clients of the department be heard in the development of new technology. How will local IT operators and small businesses in the sector be involved in this process? What opportunities for skills transfer will be offered during this process for local small businesses, particularly those with expertise in the IT sector, and how is the government proposing to achieve compatibility between the new WPIT and other government IT platforms and systems?

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