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The change again comes at the time when weather usually makes news, from record October heat in parts of Queensland and NSW to storms in Melbourne and Brisbane. Our technology editor, David Swan, reports that beta testing for the new site ran for 15 months, but he questions its quality and targeting: “This wasn’t real-world testing; it was a voluntary opt-in for tech-savvy early adopters.” Those pining for the old website should know all is not lost: it’s still available at this address. Complaints aimed at the new site – developed at a cost of $4.1 million – include that it does not allow those using the radar system images to look at future developments in storms, that its colour scheme for warnings has been abridged and that it is more difficult to find forecasts. For a resource relied upon by millions of Australians and accessed billions of times a year, these problems could have real-world consequences. Some Queenslanders have already claimed the changes left them in the dark about this week’s wild weather. The state’s premier, David Crisafulli, said that “the changes to the website don’t make sense ... platitudes from Canberra won’t cut it with Queenslanders”. And after days of criticism, it seemed federal Environment Minister Murray Watt agreed.
