Michael Forshaw (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Thank you, Minister, for a very frank answer, which I accept as a confirmation of the point made in the question. I could suggest that the issue be referred to the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee. That might be a good idea. Is the minister aware that IT industry representatives are already warning that the final cost of the smartcard project is likely to be more than the $1 billion claimed? Wasn’t the decision to award IBM the $495 million project to update immigration’s IT systems described as a blank cheque for IBM? Why has the government allowed project after project after project to go off the rails with taxpayers having to foot the multi-million dollar bill that is involved?