William Kanitz
Well-known member
Australian Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Peter McGauran, called for an independent audit of the NLIS database in June, following claims of inaccuracies and systemic errors in the system.
"The audit is being conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which has been looking at how effectively the NLIS database operates, and in particular, how individual operators interact with it," McGauran said.
"The auditors have conducted more than 40 face-to-face interviews to date, with more to come. They have also consulted with relevant state government authorities and industry organizations such as the Australian Livestock and Property Agents' Association and the Australian Lot Feeders' Association. The auditors are consulting with a wide range of stakeholders, from producers to abattoirs in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia."
The audit was originally expected to be completed by mid-October. However, last month, PwC received an official complaint, which called into question the audit process, terms of reference, and ethics of the auditor. PwC was unable to proceed with the audit until the complaint was resolved by its ethics and government business divisions.
"These concerns have been considered by the auditor, who found there were no ethical issues of concern," McGauran said. "As a direct result of this lengthy interruption, the audit has been unavoidably delayed. It is now back on track, and I look forward to its successful completion."
However, the audit has still been heavily criticized by the Australian Beef Association. The association claims that it excludes an investigation into the correlation between what it believes are the processor and producer's real records and the information on the database.
The association said it believes the outcome of the audit will be misleading. Funding for the audit has come from the $20 million the government allocated last year to implement the NLIS.
"The audit is being conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which has been looking at how effectively the NLIS database operates, and in particular, how individual operators interact with it," McGauran said.
"The auditors have conducted more than 40 face-to-face interviews to date, with more to come. They have also consulted with relevant state government authorities and industry organizations such as the Australian Livestock and Property Agents' Association and the Australian Lot Feeders' Association. The auditors are consulting with a wide range of stakeholders, from producers to abattoirs in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia."
The audit was originally expected to be completed by mid-October. However, last month, PwC received an official complaint, which called into question the audit process, terms of reference, and ethics of the auditor. PwC was unable to proceed with the audit until the complaint was resolved by its ethics and government business divisions.
"These concerns have been considered by the auditor, who found there were no ethical issues of concern," McGauran said. "As a direct result of this lengthy interruption, the audit has been unavoidably delayed. It is now back on track, and I look forward to its successful completion."
However, the audit has still been heavily criticized by the Australian Beef Association. The association claims that it excludes an investigation into the correlation between what it believes are the processor and producer's real records and the information on the database.
The association said it believes the outcome of the audit will be misleading. Funding for the audit has come from the $20 million the government allocated last year to implement the NLIS.
