Inland Revenue Faces “Novapay on Steroids”
Inland Revenue Faces “Novapay on Steroids” – New Zealand First
Inland Revenue’s runaway information technology transformation projects are being likened to Novapay with another Australian contractor right at its centre, says New Zealand First.
“The recent focus around Inland Revenue’s Child Support System cost blowout is just the entrée. It is one small cog in a massively expensive computer project,” warns Commerce and Revenue Spokesperson Fletcher Tabuteau.
“You have to feel sorry for the Minister of Revenue Todd McClay. We have to ask what Peter Dunne hasn’t done, dropping Mr McClay right in the dunny.
“The quality of management and a lack of political oversight is serious. The Auditor-General’s 2013/14 Audit even found Inland Revenue had no parliamentary authorisation to spend $67.7 million of public money due to a ‘historical oversight’. Some oversight.
“Now you are talking big, big money for Inland Revenue’s major I.T systems upgrade and so-called ‘transformation project,’ which carries a $1 billion plus price tag.
“This is the project where I.T. consultants are being flown out weekly from Australia to work in Wellington. It all sounds like Talent2 and Novapay but that’s a drop in the bucket compared to Inland Revenue’s project which could end up becoming Novapay on steroids.
“Awarding the contract to Australia’s Accenture late last year was a huge snub for the Kiwi information technology sector. The galling thing is that it beat out another foreign consultancy called CapGemini, so this government is not putting New Zealand first.
“Nor did Inland Revenue take the advice of Xero’s Rod Drury, who said hundreds of millions could have been savedin a local private-public partnership?
“New Zealand First is going to ask demanding questions of this government because this list of failed foreign I.T. company projects grows longer by the day,” says Mr Tabuteau
ENDS