Dunne coy on details of IT system update

Details of the Government’s tender process to update Inland Revenue’s IT systems are still unclear after question time today, says David Clark.

“This afternoon I asked Revenue Minister Peter Dunne whether the criteria for his department’s Registration of Interest (RoI) process for its ‘transformation programme’ could be seen to limit the chances of Kiwi bidders.

“Mr Dunne was evasive, but eventually acknowledged the department had no expectations about who would respond to the RoI.

“To think the department would have put out a RoI without any expectation or understanding of the marketplace is simply unbelievable. 

“This process, which proceeds the Request for Proposal, listed nine ‘core competencies’, among other stringent requirements, that tendering companies were required to meet.

“But, it is plain for anyone to see the Mandatory Requirements listed in section 4.3 of the Registration of Interest document (attached) effectively exclude any New Zealand-owned company from tendering.

“It is hard to imagine any company fulfilling the highly prescriptive criteria – unless it was written especially for the benefit of one particular company.

“I have previously tried to access information about this upgrade plan, including its engagement processes, but Mr Dunne’s department blocked access to anything other than the title and date of the 80 relevant documents.

“What all this says is that Peter Dunne has no interest in running a transparent process.

“This contract is likely to be the biggest IT spend the New Zealand Government has ever seen. Ministers in Mr Dunne’s own cabinet estimate the cost of the job is between $700m and $1.5b of taxpayer money. For that price, New Zealanders deserve transparency,” David Clark said.