BOM Site Redesign 20× Over Budget Sparks Public, Political Outrage

SYDNEY :  The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), affectionately known as “the Bom,” is reeling from a massive IT and public relations disaster after it was revealed the redesign of its website cost approximately A$96.5 million ($62.3m)—a figure 20 times greater than the $4.1 million initially estimated.

The long-awaited update, which went live on an unseasonably warm 22 October, was intended to improve stability and security following a 2015 cyberattack. Instead, it triggered a public revolt.

Within hours of the launch, the site was flooded with complaints, with the hashtag #changeitback going viral. Users, particularly farmers and fishermen, were furious that crucial features—such as the ability to input GPS coordinates for specific forecasts—were gone, and the new rain radar color scheme was unusable.

Psychologist Joel Pearson captured the public sentiment perfectly: “It’s the government IT project equivalent of ordering a renovation, discovering the contractor has made your house less functional, and then learning they charged you for a mansion.”

The outrage was intensified by the cost disclosure. The new head of the BOM, Dr. Stuart Minchin, confirmed the $96.5 million figure covered the full website rebuild and extensive systems testing. This immediately led the government to demand an explanation for how taxpayers’ money had been spent “efficiently and appropriately.”

Barnaby Joyce, a member of the Nationals representing regional communities, summed up the political criticism: “We spent $96m to put a B at the end of the Bom site. It’s now bomb, it’s hopeless.”

The backlash was so severe that the acting head of the agency was forced to issue an apology a week later, amid concerns that the site’s poor usability had left people underprepared for storms in Queensland.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen issued a scathing rebuke, stating the bureau “clearly has work to do, in that it has lost community confidence.”

In a bid to “calm the storm,” the BOM restored parts of the previous site, allowing users to revert to the old features while further changes are considered.