Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Ellison, the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. Does the minister recall that in 2005, following the Cornelia Rau and Vivian Solon cases, the Palmer report recommended that Immigration develop a single search facility for all of its databases so that such devastating bungles were not repeated? Can the minister confirm media reports that are saying that, two years after the Palmer report, only one in seven departmental officers can access the new search facility, known as the Systems for People program? Is it true that the new system, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars, is still not complete and has had almost as many IT contractors working on it as there are departmental officers with access? Can the minister indicate how much has been spent on the new system, when its rollout will be completed and whether it will ever meet the standard required by the Palmer report?