Case
Study #5
Australian Customs New Computer System
IT chief
hits out at dearth of ethics
Michael Sainsbury (From: The Australian, 28 Nov 2005)
A LACK of professionalism and ethics in Australia's information technology sector is to blame for debacles such as the recent collapse of the Customs software system, the incoming president of the Australian Computer Society has warned.
Philip Argy, who will take the reins at the society next year, said the failure of the $250 million Customs system, which left thousands of tonnes of freight trapped on wharves in Sydney and Melbourne last month, had been "quite devastating in terms of reputation for the whole IT industry".
"Somewhere in there someone has not behaved professionally or ethically," he said.
A leaked report has shown that Customs knew the system was flawed and that it lacked the computing power to run the system before it was brought online.
"You simply cannot blame the users. I refuse to accept that," Mr Argy said.
He pointed the finger at "bean counters" who want to get "80per cent of what they want at 20per cent of the cost".
"Professionalism is an important risk-mitigation strategy and is critical to ensuring that Australia's IT sector is held in the highest regard by business, government and industry," Mr Argy said.
A spokeswoman for federal Communications and Information Technology Minister Helen Coonan said the Government was working with the computer society and bodies such as Engineers Australia to develop a professional standards scheme for the IT industry.
Mr Argy said the growing problems with substandard IT implementations showed that Australian business and education were not keeping pace with the technology explosion.
Mr Argy was elected to head the 14,000-strong computer society last week. He is a senior partner at top legal firm Mallesons, practising science and IT law for the past 30 years.
He said the IT industry had also failed Australian business when it came to proper electronic record keeping. He estimated that more than 50per cent of Australian companies had inadequate electronic records, leaving them open to legal action.
"Many boards do not understand the risks that they are taking with this," he said.
Mr Argy also called for a coherent national IT education policy. "It is a disgrace that 80% of students know more than their teachers about technology," he said.
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