“It is difficult to see how we can continue with a project like the LBIS if we are not able to provide any results in a timely manner.” “QUT has a reputation of integrity, independence and public duty,” she wrote. Mengersen warned it would be a “loss and a disgrace” if QUT was unable to fund future phases of the study, “given the promises made about the project and financial commitment already made”. The secrecy may have contributed to its demise. So significant was the work for both QUT and Brisbane, the university announced it as a “flagship project” during the opening of its Centre for Data Science in November 2019.