Minister Erica Stanford reveals $6m more wasted on immigration IT project, ministry unsure of total cost
New Zealand's Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has revealed an additional $6 million in wasted costs for a failed IT project, bringing the total sunk cost to nearly $40 million. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is now conducting an independent audit to determine the full extent of the financial loss.
Why it matters
The revelation highlights significant government mismanagement and lack of transparency regarding public spending on large-scale technology projects.
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford revealed the latest information today at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has revealed another $6 million was wasted on a botched immigration IT project, bringing the known sunk cost to almost $40 million.
However, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has been unable to guarantee that is the project’s final cost and is engaging an independent financial auditor to try to establish how much was spent on the failed project.
Earlier this year, Stanford revealed that a $33m IT project, which was part of a wider biometric systems upgrade, was terminated late last year after about seven years of delays and issues.
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