A scathing auditor-general’s report into the $500 million upgrade of the Australian War Memorial has revealed how Scott Morrison announced the controversial project before a business case for it was put together, conflicts of interest over key contracts and large cost blowouts.
Three years later, after the pandemic had pushed up the cost of the project, the War Memorial sought an extra $50 million in federal support. According to the auditor-general, part of the problem was the cost of contracts and the oversight of them by staff within the memorial. That contract, extended to the end of entire project, has now been varied twice, to $6.6 million and in mid-2021 to $16.9 million.
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