00:00Whether it's tagging on or registering a firearm, the State Government has a number of projects
00:10in place to transform the public sector to the digital age.
00:15The Auditor-General looked at ten and found eight will come in over budget and late.
00:21Initial cost estimates to government by public entities was $2.6 billion.
00:27The current estimated cost to deliver these ten projects is actually $4.2 billion.
00:32So it's $1.6 billion extra.
00:35What project is this State Government going to deliver on time and on budget?
00:39And if anybody knows one, call it out now because I cannot remember the last one.
00:45The report found the upgraded smart writer system to use a debit card or phone is more
00:50than six years behind schedule and about $7 million over budget.
00:56The Premier says new opportunities have come up.
00:59It's still a $60 million program.
01:01We've been given the opportunity to capture other issues, which expands the scope of that
01:07and may expand the cost, but no decision has been made in relation to that.
01:10The firearm licensing and registry system is two years behind schedule and $10 million above
01:17the original cost.
01:19It's still not working.
01:20And yet we have seen people being asked to spend hours trying to register on there.
01:27Information on the status and cost of these projects is not readily available to the public.
01:33Even the Auditor-General's office say they had trouble accessing it because of inconsistencies
01:38in annual reports and budget papers.
01:40Where there's good reporting and where there's transparency, we found that those projects
01:45performed better.
01:46And also decision makers can spot a problem and they can bring it back on track.
01:50As far as the Government committing to increasing transparency, the Auditor-General says that's
01:56a work in progress.
