A major government information technology project is close to $30 million over its original budget, and a year away from being fully operational.
The Joint Border Management System aimed at improving processes at the border was supposed to be up and running two years ago, but is still at least a year away from being fully operational.
Nicky Wagner said extra costs were due to a longer phase-in time and the adoption of an international data standard. Photo: NATIONAL PARTY
When the project was announced in 2011, it was meant to cost $75 million and be in place the following year. The start date was pushed back three times and the budget ballooned to about $90 million.
Radio New Zealand has learned the Government in September again increased the project's budget by $14.4 million to a total of $104.1 million.
The money is being found from within Customs' and the Ministry of Primary Industries' current budgets.
Not fully operational
Part of the project launched in August last year, but core aspects are still not in place.
Customs' chief information officer Murray Young is promising all systems go by the end of next year.
"It's always been an ambitious project. What we are doing is, as Kiwis tend to do, leading the industry, rather than following."
By the end of October this year, $86.5 million had been spent on the project.
The new system was supposed to deliver savings of $450 million over 10 years but under the new timeframe, that will take 15 years.
Customs' Minister Nicky Wagner said the extra funding was being brought forward from ring-fenced money for enhancing the project in the future.
She said the extra costs were due to a decision to phase in the project over a longer time, as well as adopting an international standard for data.
"What we wanted to do was be flexible and make sure that what we were delivering was fit for purpose in the long term, and things of course change over time."
Customs has also reached an agreement with IBM for ongoing support and enhancement of the system for the next seven years.
Labour Foreign Affairs spokesperson David Shearer. Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
'Gone off the rails'
But Labour's David Shearer said the project was on its way to becoming another debacle like Novopay.
"This is another Government project that has gone off the rails and is costing the taxpayer a lot of money."
He said the system was still missing a core technology for smarter targeting of people and goods crossing the border.
Mr Shearer said the Minister was asleep at the wheel. "We're $30 million over where we were supposed to be, and we are three years at least delayed in terms of implementation. If that is not a complete failure, it's very, very close to it."
Nicky Wagner dismisses that, and insists the border management system is working well.
"The key issue here is that we maintain productivity at the border for our traders ... and as long as they're happy ... we've done a good job."
