This is yet another article in The Australian newspaper on the problems and issues around the Federal Government's schools and education stimulus package. Assuming the facts are right, and I have no reason to believe otherwise, the waste is just incredible. Good on the parents and staff to say they will hand the money back as it is just replacing a perfectly functioning building with another building serving the same purpose....on top of all the disruption that it will cause.

Not knowing the full story I need to caveat this by saying that I really don't know the facts...nonetheless, I am still astounded!

It is truly just bizarre and indicates an extreme lack of flexibility and a complete lack of management expertise in how to manage a program. The article says that the NSW State Government claims it is too late to change anything. I presume this means that once a project like this starts they can't stop it or change its direction. That is just plain silly!

This is a configuration management issue in many ways. You start out with a stick in the sand saying we are buying/building XXX. Circumstances change and you realise that XXX is no longer suitable for the changed environment and that you are better off with XYX or XYZ even. If you were the NSW State Government, you would say ..."nup ... they're going to get XXX whether they like it or not".

Now to change the requirement at the beginning of the process (and this is supposedly at the design stage) is not that hard even under time constraints as they claim. But to throw good money after bad and continue the process even if you KNOW it is the wrong thing to do .... is ...well the only word for this is "stupid"... really really stupid.

There is also an old but still relevant management dictum that you make decisions (particularly financial investment ones) based upon the present and future trajectory not the past.

This is just so wrong on so many levels.