BOM Told to Fix $4 Million Website After Public Backlash
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, better known as the BOM, has found itself under serious scrutiny after launching a new $4.1 million website that’s been met with widespread frustration. What was meant to be a “modern and sleek” digital upgrade quickly turned into a public relations headache, as everyday users — especially farmers — complained the site was confusing, limited, and hard to navigate.
The federal government has now stepped in, ordering the BOM to fix the platform following a torrent of complaints from across the country. The criticism poured in almost immediately after the redesigned website went live last week — coinciding with wild weather in Victoria and intense heat across much of Australia. Unfortunately, that timing only made the situation worse, as people struggled to access crucial weather updates when they needed them most.
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Energy Minister Chris Bowen didn’t mince words when speaking about the issue on ABC Radio, saying the bureau had clearly “lost community confidence.” Environment Minister Murray Watt echoed that sentiment, confirming that the site “was not meeting many users’ expectations.” He said he’d spoken directly with the acting chief executive of the BOM, Peter Stone, stressing the need for urgent adjustments to the website’s usability and functionality. Watt added that Australians deserve reliable, easy-to-use access to vital weather information, especially during emergencies, and that public safety must remain the top priority.
Farmers have been particularly vocal about their frustrations. Nationals leader David Littleproud revealed that many people in his Queensland electorate of Maranoa were struggling to find local rainfall, river height, and radar data — tools they rely on daily. He explained that users can no longer input GPS coordinates for their specific properties, forcing them to rely on broader searches by town or postcode instead. According to him, that’s a major setback for those who depend on precision data to make decisions about crops and livestock.
The BOM’s website draws around 1.8 million visits a day, and that number can jump to nearly 6 million during extreme weather events. With such high demand, the stakes for getting the design right couldn’t be higher. Interestingly, the bureau said community feedback during a 12-month beta testing phase had been “overwhelmingly positive.” But it’s clear that the real-world rollout has been a different story.
Now, the Bureau of Meteorology has been tasked with briefing state and territory emergency services ministers about its plans to fix the issues. The goal is simple: restore public trust and ensure Australians can easily access the critical weather information they rely on — especially when the next big storm hits.
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