We won’t be held hostage by big tech: Shorten

Ronald Mizen and Paul Smith

Jul 25, 2023 – 5.46pm

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Bill Shorten says government must stand up to big technology firms and consultants to ensure services benefit citizens, are delivered ethically, and costly failures are avoided.

The government services minister on Tuesday revealed he had nixed the Morrison government’s in-development welfare entitlement calculator – writing off $191 million in sunk costs – and warned vendors there had been a change in approach to technology spending and outsourcing.

Ronald Mizen is the Financial Review’s political correspondent, reporting from the press gallery at Parliament House, Canberra.

Paul Smith edits the technology coverage and has been a leading writer on the sector for 20 years. He covers big tech, business use of tech, the fast-growing Australian tech industry and start-ups, telecommunications and national innovation policy.