
Issue No 70		07 September 2000

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News

Auditor-General Blows Whistle On Outsourcing Madness

By Dermot Browne

The Auditor General has released a damning report on public sector information technology (IT) outsourcing which shows the exercise has failed to deliver anything like the savings promised by the Government.

The report reveals;

a 300 per cent blow out in costs,
two years delays in contract schedules
financial evaluation of bids not in line with commercial practice.

The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) says the report confirms many issues the union has raised since 1997.

National President, Matthew Reynolds said " members in agencies where IT has been outsourced continue to report many 'user-end' problems. These include slow, unhelpful 'help' desks, tardy toner replacement, minor repairs taking weeks to be serviced and lengthy e-mail crashes. This is leading to increased tension in the workplace and is eroding productivity."

The report also reveals that a huge chunk of the IT outsourcing budget - 40 per cent - has gone to IT advisers working for Shaw Pittman Potts and Trowbridge's, an American consultancy.

The report shows the Government has been paying one adviser $1.7 million a year, another two more than $1 million a year each.

ALP Senator, Kate Lundy, said "The program has cost $33 million to implement and we know through the Audit Office report that about $24 million of that is for three advisers. Three people, for a couple of years, in one office providing advice on how to run this program.

The CSIRO Staff Association currently battling government plans to outsource CSIRO information technology, said it was appalled by the amount of money the audit showed had been wasted on overseas consultants at a time when science funding was so rare.

Assistant Secretary Pauline Gallagher said the association had been aware of the blowout in costs of implementing and managing contracts.

"Add to this the poor service record of the existing contract providers, their failure to set up and maintain adequate security of IT systems, and questions on...capability to meet government agency needs, and you have a recipe for disaster..."

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Issue 70 contents

Interview: New Internationalism
In its battle with Rio Tinto the CFMEU has pioneered global campaigning. National Secretary John Maitland talks to Workers Online about globalisation, a union response and using new technologies to organise .

History: Pickets and Police
S11 protestors would do well to be wary. Fred Paterson, CPA member of the Qld Parliament, was bashed by the Queensland police on St Patrick's Day 1948, when a Labor Government was in power in that state.

Education: The WEF -Why Should We Care?
An event like the World Economic Forum attracts all the spin doctors for every interest, often obscuring real issues. For educators the issues may seem remote but a closer look shows that services like public education could be dramatically affected by the unfolding agenda of global trade liberalisation says Rob Durbridge.

Economics: A Vandalised Economy
Since New Zealand was opened up to the forces of globalisation, it has performed dismally, both economically and socially. NZCTU Economist Peter Conway reports.

Unions: Our Vital Role in Society
Eight months into his new role as ACTU Secretary Greg Combet reflects on the challenges facing Australian unions.

International: Turning Up The Heat
John Sweeney of the AFL-CIO says the union movement can and will reform the global economy, for as Dr Martin Luther King taught us, the moral arc of history is long but it bends towards justice.

Satire: Threat to withhold pocket money derails S11 protest
MELBOURNE, Tuesday: Members of the activist collective S11 announced today that they had decided to cancel their protest at the upcoming World Economic Forum meeting at Crown Casino.

» Nike Slammed Over Indonesian Factories

» Fairfax Joins Ferals

» Federal Government Blocks Rail Merger

» Auditor-General Blows Whistle On Outsourcing Madness

» Fly By Night Labour Takes Off

» CFMEU Rejects Reith Mischief

» The Organised Olympics

» Killjoy Reith Targets Picnics and Fun

» New Economy Spawns New Plagues

» Multi-national Stymies Peace Talks

» Greed of the Fatcats

» Women Challenge Prejudice in Maritime Industry

» Building Union Raises $42,000 For Paralympians

» Get Organised! NZ Unions Tell Army