Neil Sands
Paul Goldsmith
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says external IT experts have assured him “with a high level of confidence” that the ministry’s flagship courts digitisation programme – beset by delays and budget overruns – is now on track.
Andrew Kibblewhite
Goldsmith and Secretary for Justice Andrew Kibblewhite faced intense questioning about the project at recent scrutiny week hearings in Parliament following allegations that senior public servants covered up the failure of an Immigration New Zealand IT project that derailed, costing taxpayers more than $30 million.
Kibblewhite said the courts IT project, called Te Au Reka, promises to be transformational, digitising a system currently reliant on post-it notes and hard copy paper documents, as well as facilitating plans to slash the number of public servants working at the ministry.
However, he conceded the project faced hurdles. Phase one was due to start mid-year but has been pushed back to November, with a four-month contingency built in should any further challenges arise.
“This would be one of the most complex IT-underpinned changes in the country. When other countries have tried to do similar things, they haven’t succeeded as effectively as they’d hoped,” Kibblewhite said.
“So this is big and it’s hard… [We recognise] that this has such a high level of risk associated with it. We’ve got a good team that’s working hard on it and we’ve got a ministry that’s ready for it.”
Kibblewhite told Parliament’s Justice Select Committee that Te Au Reka “will be within the overarching budget parameters that we’ve set for it”.
He did not define what parameters he was talking about, but the project’s budget, originally set at $170 million, has already blown out by at least 15%, according to information released earlier this year.
‘Looked them in the eye’
Kibblewhite said Colin MacDonald, the former government chief digital officer, had been appointed independent chair of a steering committee monitoring the project and an Australian expert was also on the committee.
He said the ministry’s Risk & Assurance Committee was providing further oversight.
Goldsmith said he received regular reports on the project’s progress.
“The Ministry of Justice has brought in an IQA (quality assurance) group of experts… I’ve met with them physically at a number of stages and looked them in the eye and they’ve taken me through how they’re confident that progress is being made, what are the areas of concern and what are the things the project is working on to rectify those issues.”
The minister added: “There’s always risk in any large project, that has to be acknowledged. But we do what we do through these provisions to have a high level of confidence that we’re on track.”
Kibblewhite said Te Au Reka, meaning “the sweet flow” in te reo Māori, would be worth the wait.
“[It] will transform the way the courts work and it will be better for all participants in the courts,” he said.
“When I first arrived as Secretary of Justice, one of my early impressions was that the most significant technological advancement in the courts for the last 40 years was probably the post-it note, because the post-it note is actually how we keep track of information for the most part at the moment.
“That’s going to change. We’re going to have a digitally based case management system that lawyers will be able to engage with and over time will absolutely transform the way the court functions and open up a lot of new opportunities.”
Job losses, ‘productivity gains’
Another impact, not previously mentioned during official discussions about Te Au Reka, will be its role in reducing job numbers at the ministry as part of the government’s plans to axe almost 9,000 public service jobs over the next three years.
Goldsmith said no decision had been made yet about how many jobs will go at the Ministry of Justice.
“If you think of a simple example, there are currently people who are very busy photocopying and printing very large files, then pushing them around from place to place for court hearings,” he said.
“In a very short time we’ll be joining the modern era and these things will be available on the screen. But right now there’s an incredible amount of physical activity involved in the delivery of paper in our system that we’re having to deal with.”
Kibblewhite said staff had been warned that jobs will be cut and he outlined Te Au Reka’s role in the process.
“We’ve been having a conversation, including with staff, over the last 18 months about our expectation that we would have fewer people in the future,” he said.
“That’s because we’re actually one of the agencies that’s investing in technology that will enable us to rethink how the system works and how we function.
“The digital case management system Te Au Reka will enable us, I think, to both find productivity gains and generate better outcomes for people as they come through the court system.”
He added: “Our trajectory over the next two or three years is very clear. We’ll be able to reduce our headcount. I think ministry staff are not under any illusion that their work worlds are going to change… the ministry will be smaller in the future, I’m sure of that.”
0 Comments