Social Security's $100m Computer
The Age
Friday September 10, 1993
Canberra The federal Department of Social Security is spending $100 million installing a new computer system, despite toughening the criteria for access to unemployment benefits in the recent Budget.
A departmental first assistant secretary, Mr Vic Rogers, said yesterday that the new system would put the department ``at the forefront of computer technology".
Mr Rogers said it would not have any immediate impact on the department's efficiency but would make a big difference in three years when the project was completed.
According to Mr Rogers, Cabinet approved funding for the new system in 1991, and the 1991-92 Budget included an allocation of $11 million.
This and an allocation in the following year's Budget were allowed to be rolled over and retained in departmental coffers until a contractor was found.
The rest of the money will be provided in the Social Security budget in the coming three years under an arrangement with the Department of Finance. Mr Rogers said he would like the project finished sooner if possible.
The department has exchanged letters with BHP Information Technology, which was selected as preferred tenderer in September last year to replace more than 16,000 workstations in 300 departmental offices. Mr Rogers said the bid by the Sydney-based subsidiary of BHP won on price.
``A feature of the new system is that it will allow the department to plug in future computer technology as it becomes available," Mr Rogers said.
Mr Rogers said it would give staff better equipment on their desks and a better electronic mail system, but would not affect software.
A spokesman for the Minister for Social Security, Mr Baldwin, last night defended the purchase and said there was no inconsistency in the Government's decisions to cut access to welfare and spend on computers.
The spokesman said the computer network was being installed over several years and was necessary because the department's computer was a few years old.
``A computer isn't a luxury, it's a necessity," he said. The project had gone before an acquisitions council and been approved.
The Opposition spokesman on social security, Mr Philip Ruddock, said the new system sounded very expensive.
Installation is due to begin in January in an area office at Queanbeyan, near Canberra.
© 1993 The Age
Share This