\n<\/p>\n
It is hailed as a global endeavour to explore the hidden universe \u2013 a powerful telescope comprising more than 130,000 antennae being built in outback Western Australia.<\/p>\n
Along with a sister telescope in South Africa, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory is a \u20ac2bn (A$3.6bn) project tasked with mapping the first billion years of the universe.<\/p>\n
One day, the SKAO\u2019s antennae \u2013 which look like metal Christmas trees scattered across the desert \u2013 could confirm the existence of extraterrestrial life, prove Einstein\u2019s theory of relativity and explain how galaxies have evolved over time.<\/p>\n
But while the venture is being lauded as one of the most significant scientific endeavours of the 21st century, the Guardian can reveal that the organisation managing the funds of 16 member states has been rocked by allegations of financial misconduct.<\/p>\n
The organisation has denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
<\/span>The SKAO\u2019s antennae resemble metal Christmas trees scattered across the desert.<\/span> Photograph: SKAO\/Max Alexander<\/p>\n The Australian government contribution to the SKAO has blown out by more than $150m from 2020 to 2024 compared with its initial budget, with the additional expenditure partly attributed to funding shortfalls for the project.<\/p>\n In March this year, as the telescope in Australia captured its first images of faraway galaxies using just 1% of its capacity, a former senior employee of the project was filing a \u201cprotected disclosure\u201d report calling for an investigation into the SKAO\u2019s financial management.<\/p>\n As an intergovernmental organisation, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory is not subject to national laws or regulatory oversight in Australia where the employee is based, so the complaint went directly to the organisation\u2019s global chair, the Italian astrophysicist Filippo Maria Zerbi.<\/p>\n The concerns outlined in the disclosure had previously been raised with senior staff internally.<\/p>\n In response to the whistleblower\u2019s report, an email from Zerbi \u2013 sent in May 2025 and seen by the Guardian \u2013 confirms the organisation is conducting an external independent evaluation of the litany of allegations made against it.<\/p>\n The email states that the chair is taking \u201call necessary actions\u201d in response to the concerns raised, and given the volume of disclosed information, \u201cfurther external and independent investigation into specific elements is necessary before reaching any conclusions and proceeding with the next steps\u201d.<\/p>\n Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/p>\n The whistleblower has also raised concerns with the financial reporting council in the UK where the SKAO is headquartered, claiming the structure of the organisation had created a \u201cregulatory blind spot\u201d that had allowed for the \u201csystematic deception of 16 sovereign governments\u201d.<\/p>\n The Square Kilometre Array Observatory was established by an international treaty in 2019, endowing it with special legal status; it is immune from normal legal processes and exempt from paying tax. International staff employed on the project in Australia are hired on diplomatic visas.<\/p>\n <\/span>A bird\u2019s eye view of two completed stations in June 2024. The SKAO is not subject to national laws or regulatory oversight in Australia.<\/span> Photograph: SKAO<\/p>\n While the UK and Australia are majority shareholders in the project, the total financial contributions of each member nation are not disclosed.<\/p>\n The Australian government announced in 2021 that it would contribute $387m to the SKAO over a decade for the construction and operation of the telescope, with $141m committed over the four-year forward estimates.<\/p>\n At the time, the then prime minister, Scott Morrison, said the project would \u201chelp our scientists make more discoveries than we can imagine today, whether it\u2019s better understanding the origin and future of our stars and galaxies, to how gravity works across the universe\u201d.<\/p>\n Portfolio budget statements for the Department of Industry, Science and Resources published since show the total amount spent is substantially more than this, with a total spend of $475m from 2021 to 2025.<\/p>\n A department spokesperson said the additional spending included Australia\u2019s member state contributions to the SKAO Observatory and \u201cAustralia\u2019s other commitments to the SKA project, including investment in the Australian SKA Regional Centre and site readiness and local communities\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of the investment is also leveraging the Australian SKA site\u2019s fibre optic connection to provide connectivity for two communities nearby to the site \u2013 the Pia Wadjarri Remote Aboriginal Community and the Murchison Settlement,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n The amount spent between 2020 and 2024 was $164m more than initially budgeted in 2020.<\/p>\n The spokesperson said there had been changes to the administered budgeted expenses for the SKA project \u201cdue to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, adjustments to economic parameters, and the reprofiling of funds as part of regular updates to budget estimates\u201d.<\/p>\n In the 2025-26 budget, the government announced an additional $47.9m in the budget\u2019s contingency reserve \u201cto address funding shortfalls for the SKA project\u201d alongside other member nations.<\/p>\n In response to the disclosure, a copy of which has been seen by the Guardian, Zerbi has initiated an investigation into claims that public funds from member states have been lost through trading accounts \u2013 and then covered up by the organisation through the shuffling of funds internally.<\/p>\n At the centre of the misconduct allegations is a claim that at least \u00a312m (A$25.1m) was lost through investment in three money market funds, with one fund allegedly losing 45% of its value. The Guardian has seen balance sheet extracts and statements that appear to confirm the investments by the SKAO, which is headquartered at the Jodrell Bank Observatory near Manchester.<\/p>\n The report also calls for an investigation into claims funds are being shifted within the organisation, and currency fluctuations being fabricated to conceal these losses from the governing council overseeing the project.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the SKAO denied the allegations, but confirmed it was \u201cassisting an independent, external investigation\u201d into them.<\/p>\n \u201cNo capital loss has been incurred in these investment holdings. Money market funds are inherently low-risk, highly liquid investments and were selected for SKAO\u2019s investment portfolio for this reason,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cAny reduction seen in the investment balances relates to amounts being redeemed (withdrawn) from the investments to support SKAO\u2019s normal cash requirements, for example to pay suppliers and staff salaries.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Sign up to Breaking News Australia<\/span><\/p>\n Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.<\/span><\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cSKAO follows recognised best practice, and its financial activities and reports are subject to rigorous internal audits and independent external audits which are reported to Finance Committee and Council. No adverse findings of note have been reported.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/span>Portfolio budget statements reveal the Australian government contributed $475m between 2021 and 2025 towards the SKAO.<\/span> Photograph: SKAO\/Max Alexander<\/p>\n Other complaints detailed in the whistleblower\u2019s report include allegations that procurement budgets have been mismanaged, leading to delays and change in scope.<\/p>\n One example is the project\u2019s failure to build a permanent power supply to the telescope at the Australian site, which is now being run on temporary diesel generators.<\/p>\n The SKAO website claims power for the project\u2019s central processing plant \u201cis provided by a photovoltaic plant [solar] and energy storage system backed up by diesel generators, generating renewable energy a majority of the time to power the antennas and all site infrastructure\u201d.<\/p>\n However, no solar plant has yet been built. The project is yet to award a tender for the power plant and is allegedly spending more than $1m a year on diesel to power the plant.<\/p>\n A tender document published by the SKAO in March reveals that a \u201cphase one\u201d diesel-operated system for the site is \u201cexpected to be operational in early 2026\u201d, with the tender seeking interest to build a \u201cphase two\u201d power plant to integrate renewable energy.<\/p>\n The scope and schedule of the SKA project, a massive undertaking to deliver the world\u2019s two largest and most complex radio telescopes, are under constant reviewSKAO spokesperson<\/p>\n The SKAO spokesperson confirmed that the project would be running on diesel generators until the long-term solar-based plant was operational \u2013 expected in late 2028.<\/p>\n \u201cAn expert team is implementing a complex multi-stage power procurement process that will result in a long-term power purchase agreement with an independent power provider to build and operate a radio quiet power station with a very high fraction of power generated from solar photovoltaic cells and using a substantial battery energy storage system.\u201d<\/p>\n The Guardian can also reveal that <\/strong> a \u20ac5m European Commission grant claimed by the SKAO consortium for infrastructure development was partially clawed back.<\/p>\n A letter sent from the European Research Executive Agency to the UK-based deputy director general of the SKAO, Simon Berry, indicates that the commission was seeking repayment of \u20ac3.4m that had already been paid.<\/p>\n It is understood that the amount ultimately recognised by the European Commission was \u20ac2.5m of the original \u20ac5m grant after many of the claimed costs were deemed ineligible.<\/p>\n The grant, allocated under the Horizon 2020 program, had been intended to support \u201cthe detailed design of the infrastructure required\u201d for the telescope sites in Australia and South Africa.<\/p>\n <\/span>The Australian SKAO site is being run on temporary diesel generators.<\/span> Photograph: CSIRO\/Alex Cherney<\/p>\n The SKAO spokesperson said the grant had been overseen by the SKA organisation \u2013 the predecessor company to the SKAO that is in the process of being wound up.<\/p>\n \u201cAs is often the case, with a complex major project of this sort, there were some costs deemed ineligible, but by the closeout of the project these were modest in nature and the arrangements resolved amicably between all the project partners and the EC, with the full knowledge and approval from the Organisation\u2019s governance structures,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n An \u201cinternal update\u201d circulated within the organisation in early July suggests there have also been changes to the project\u2019s scope and schedule.<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the update, a \u201cprogramme and schedule risk review\u201d had established \u201cextensions to our Mid and Low schedules\u201d. (\u201cLow\u201d refers to the Australian telescope, while \u201cMid\u201d refers to the project in South Africa.)<\/p>\n The document also refers to a \u201cbudget gap\u201d that will be assessed over the coming months. \u201cThen we\u2019ll look at how we can manage this, through reducing or deferring some of our scope.\u201d<\/p>\n The circular states that the organisation is aware that \u201cour current contingency budget is insufficient to cover the expected ECPs [engineering change proposals] and remaining risk\u201d of the project.<\/p>\n In response to questions from the Guardian about the project\u2019s changed scope, the SKAO spokesperson said: \u201cThe scope and schedule of the SKA project, a massive undertaking to deliver the world\u2019s two largest and most complex radio telescopes, are under constant review.<\/p>\n \u201cSKAO Council, comprising representatives of the governments of the member states that make up SKAO and supported by its Finance Committee, has oversight of all such issues. A recent schedule update has been notified to Council and the wider scientific community, and is driven by programmatic not financial reasons,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It is hailed as a global endeavour to explore the hidden universe \u2013 a powerful telescope comprising more than 130,000 antennae being built in outback Western Australia. Along with a sister telescope in South Africa, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory is a \u20ac2bn (A$3.6bn) project tasked with mapping the first billion years of the universe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[10347,346,1891,589,3435,10346,4357,10345,370,1034,10088,9947,1695,1179],"class_list":{"0":"post-17211","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-array","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-claims","11":"tag-earth","12":"tag-hidden","13":"tag-kilometre","14":"tag-misconduct","15":"tag-outback","16":"tag-project","17":"tag-rock","18":"tag-searches","19":"tag-square","20":"tag-telescope","21":"tag-universe"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}