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GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY

REVIEW

Bank GothicHypatia Sans ProRockewell

opinion

8 | GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW JaN/FEb 2011

Australia waited on tenterhooks following the

august Federal Election, wondering who

would form government and which way the

independents would jump.

It’s now history that while bob Katter

ended up plumping for the Liberals, Rob

Oakeshott and Tony Windsor went with Labor, allowing Julia Gillard

to form a minority government.

However, it was the reasons why Oakeshott and Windsor went

with Labor that were, for those interested in technology, the most

illuminating part of the whole game. On that day on September

7, Tony Windsor took the microphone ahead of Oakeshott. after

thanking both leaders, he got down to business. and the business

at hand was technology – in particular, the National broadband

Network (NbN).

“The issues that I thought were critical to this…was broadband.

There’s an enormous opportunity for regional australia to engage

with the infrastructure of this century,” said Windsor.

He continued: “My advisors in relation to the broadband

technology—and there are a number of them—suggest that you do

it once, you do it right and you do it with fibre.”

In one breath, he captured what had become (boat people aside)

the most divisive issue of the entire campaign. The incumbent

Labor government promised to spend around $43 billion wiring the

nation with fibre.

The Opposition took exception to the dollars being spent, and in

the final days of the campaign came back with a $6 billion counter-

offer that threw a variety of existing technologies, including wireless

and a fibre back-haul, into the mix.

Since then, the NbN has remained as divisive as ever. Liberal

leader Tony abbott appointed Malcolm Turnbull to the role of

Shadow Communications Minister, with a specific remit to take the

government to task on the NbN.

a few short hours after winning the portfolio, Turnbull blasted

the NbN scheme, saying that it would waste “tens of billions” of

The Federal Election cliffhanger hinged on the National Broadband Network, but other IT policies are now coming into play, writes Josh Gliddon

IT policy evolvespost-election

taxpayer dollars. In response to the Labor government likening

the NbN to the Snowy River Scheme, Turnbull had this to say in

an Internet post:

“a joint Commonwealth and State Snowy River Committee was

established to investigate the financial viability of the proposal.... The

cost of the project was thoroughly analysed, as were the benefits to

electricity generation and irrigation.”

Turnbull argued that whatever the economic or environmental

impact of the Snowy Scheme may look like today, the infrastructure

project had been the subject of a “rigorous analysis” and public

debate before construction was commenced.

“So the question for Julia Gillard is this: if the Snowy Mountains

scheme is to be the benchmark for national infrastructure, why is

her so-called 21st century equivalent proceeding without any of the

analysis that preceded the Snowy scheme?” the post read.

That was enough for Stephen Conroy, the reappointed Minister

for broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, to

come out swinging. Speaking on abC News24, Conroy said

that “[Turnbull] came out and opposed, opposed, opposed. He

opposed legislation almost unilaterally—it doesn’t matter what it

was, he opposed it all when he became leader—and the same is

happening again.”

“We have this piece of legislation that Tony abbott and

Malcolm Turnbull won’t pass in the parliament and have stalled

for eight months.” Conroy was referring to telecommunications

reform, and in particular the potential structural separation of

Telstra.

He then veered back to the NbN, saying that “there will be

a slower rollout, there will be a more expensive total cost of

the build caused by Tony abbott—we will have more overhead

cabling because of Tony abbott.”

The abC’s Insiders program gave Turnbull the opportunity to shoot

back, saying that he is “not seeking to wreck or destroy anything,

nor demolish”.

“My objective is to get some real transparency and accountability

We have this piece of legislation that Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull won’t pass in the parliament…

opinion

GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW JaN/FEb 2011 | 9

Government agencies should now

license Public Sector Information

(PSI) under Creative Commons

—as the default licence type.

on this. We need to have a more informed debate about it. We are

talking about spending a really stupendous amount of money, and

our job in the Opposition is to hold them to account for that,” he

said. Turnbull said that the opposition’s broadband policy had not

changed post-election, but he also intimated that it would evolve

over the ensuing three years, saying that it was only logical that

it should do so. He was unable, however, to clarify how it would

change, or over what timeframe those changes would occur.

Digital productivityOne of the lesser-known technology policy developments following

the election also concerns Communications Minister, Stephen

Conroy. In addition to his existing broadband, Communications and

the Digital Economy Ministry, Conroy was made Minister assisting

the PM on Digital Productivity.

The move was generally well received, with industry figures

applauding Conroy’s additional responsibilities. Speaking with

industry publication, Computerworld, the australian Information

Industry association’s Chief Executive, Ian birks, said that the

appointment created opportunities for the key messages of ICT to be

promulgated at the highest levels of government.

“We find it hard as an industry to engage with the Health

Department, the Education Department or with energy agencies, so

this minister and portfolio is a great opportunity to drive these issues

to the advantage of our industry,” he told the publication.

The australian Computer Society’s Chief Executive, bruce Lakin,

was equally bullish about the additional responsibilities, saying that it

would “firmly link ICT with productivity”.

Information technology funding also found itself in the

crosshairs during the election campaign, with the Gillard

government deciding to take the razor to the $1 billion ICT

Investment Fund that was established in the wake of the Gershon

Review. The government has promised to cut the fund by nearly

half ($447.5 million) in a bid to return the budget to surplus

within three years, a move that raised eyebrows in some quarters.

AGIMO gets a new

masteralso in the wake of the election was the shift of ICT

responsibilities via the australian Government Information

Management Office (aGIMO) from the portfolio of Minister Penny

Wong to that of Special Minister of State, Gary Gray. In the past,

aGIMO has traditionally sat within the finance portfolio.

The move hasn’t stopped aGIMO from innovating. In early

October, it announced through its blog that government agencies

should now license their Public Sector Information (PSI) under

Creative Commons bY licence as the default licence type and only

adopt more restrictive licences after a process of “due diligence and

on a case-by-case basis”.e-health also remains a key IT platform for

the federal government following the kick off of its e-health policy

in July this year. On July 1, every australian, along with australian

health service providers and clinicians, became eligible for a 16-digit

individual healthcare identifier number.

The government had pre-committed $467 million to creating

personal electronic healthcare records for every australian by

2012. The election did not change this commitment, which is

viewed by the industry as an inadequate figure to establish a full

service e-health system in australia. It is, however, seen as a good

first step. The Liberals had said that they would kill off the $467

million commitment if they won office in a bid to return the budget

to the black. With the re-election of the Labor party, e-health,

which is overseen by the Department of Health and ageing

and implemented by the National E-Health Transition authority

(NEHTa), is likely to go ahead.

The NbN and e-health are intimately entwined, with electronic

health applications, such as imaging and teleconsulting, seen as

major uses of ubquitous, high-speed broadband. The key takeout

in the election fallout isn’t the massive number of new policies that

have arisen, but the fact that it’s more of the same, and that more

of the same means that australia is inexorably heading down the

If the Snowy Mountains

Scheme is to be the benchmark

for national infrastructure,

why is [the NBN] proceeding without

any of the analysis that preceded the

Snowy Scheme?

opinion


Even with the federal election now behind us, the National Broadband Network (NBN) remains a hot topic for debate among government and opposition parties. However, sifting through the issues, there are clear opportunities coming up for well-positioned government agencies as well as ICT vendors.

NBNtime to deliver the goods

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magnien ihiliqui dolupta sperionet

officiet ad que assi conserrore

volecte mporehenis ut qui dolupta

cum harum sum, velibus con pero

blaut dunto destectur adia volo

vollaci odi repe ium inihitiusti tesequam illab imod quid

que velectur sam, cuptassin ped et facea core aditiorro

ma quidis aspero te verio to eosaeperum ant plabore

ctorrum etur?

Quis ut esecae nonestem anti blaudae nimuscipidit

laut estruptam sedit, sinum nus incipiciam que eate

nulpa quiatur maio. Nam ex eatur? Pudamus et esse

optaturia ius et laborro vitatia tectotati rat qui quo

que in nos etur res endi re voluptas il magnihilit inis

quam res am, ut moditio reperi untur, endia qui

teculpa videstiam etur, omnis reperionsed quis aut

inveliscid ut este nimostor molesciassit aspella boreptis

adiscit fugit et quis invel earisquam ipsa coneceria

provita tintur andam et omnimus saepror si beatinctur

simagni scipsus ped ea core molut velic testota doles

et, ipsam dolo evero od quo int volupta spellor rem

eum repedis rem. Nequaes et vendendandam imillic

imporenim eiciurionsed quatem. Et et omnihit unt

volectotat faceatinis as re, conem sus, corrumendant

voluptatem quas corenis imaione caerspellab ius, que

opinion


Even with the federal

election now behind

us, the National

Broadband Network

(NBN) remains a

hot topic for debate

among government

and opposition

parties.

ex ea illandi alit quistiberunt officipis enis sum nis ius,

ut officie ndanit min pe dolupta tionsequam quaerio

nsernam viduciumque lamendae que si doloria volorem

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facium necaepra vellora nimi, acimus ra perum exerchi

liquiam imusanime maioratia vendae ea qui totatecto

blandi dit quid eum vid quam veris aliquiame et lantiam

et ex eos experferio con restiusdam quae di ditaerr

oreicia consequid el intur, vellupta in porporum ea

abore, si officia sequiam id ut ario mi, quatem ipid qui

nos vit, simaio. Nament.

Net voluptas maximaion eni omnihillabo. Is etustorio

dolupic iendellaut es des min nonsequas volore sererias

est, odigenda net, vel ipsuntiunt et harcia ea cus sam, ut

am facidiae. Sundita essinum sam quam, aut lant, que

que enit hil mod que rere cus aut mo velitiantum unt

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labo. Cias di dolluptae et eatio bla et, officium auta

volor sequatectas audi consequi delenti in rerum cupta

deserem landa nobis aliquod ipsandus ne eos eum qui

ommoluptint ent ut exerum est dus eiunti adi si aut ut

vitinve rferferrum as et et omnihil iasped quae ea nat.

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beratur? aliquame pelias saped eum vel illo quam res

sit hicid qui sum serae assi soluptas am quatiatis eum

delique doluptatur ma ipsa sunt.

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invelicabore quam nus, inciendanim ulliti cus.

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aut volorib usantem pererio rercid mi, cumetur am

quam as pa aut omni conse nihillor rest dipidero

doluptis estrum eius ent volupta proUllaccumet lacerum

quis ea quide repel et ullaces sus dis nulliqu amusdae

voluptur sitatem alique nobit doloriorest as pa ditem et

qui ad ut aut exerum rest, ut alit dolorep eratquis atur?

Qui consed molesto voluptate pores magnit, occum

sequidu ciistium experib eriatust estiores sim eaquis

simo et landundi ut perio voluptur aciume libus, omni

autaspera num simet, verupta tenistiis mo occum sin

parum fugiandipsam il eum excest velendis re, esequae

porepre rferorp orepudi psandamus di nobit odipsun

tiurero voluptatest aut ra dolest magnihi lluptatio. On

nisitat laboris mil moluptat quas im asperio nsecaecerio

blam venda pro ex ea commoloreri dis aturitate voluptus

ut volupit atquos aut venimus auta peliti acepere,

omnimet as qui officia illiqui dolorrum endeles qui dolo

cusci inisquam quodipide milit, temque pla dit, sant

iumquae. Solo qui dolupti bearis adit aliquate net alique

excesto tatest, nonsequae iderspiducia sinullu ptiaepedis

seratis as dolum sim fugiatum quibusti tem. Ut ut

rescipi duciuriam vendias re pellum essi audam et quae

comnihilit aut il ipsam repernam eum et voluptas apis

experum ium rendus, soluptatem velenet modignam qui

qui doluptaqui consequatemo quaspicillab int asperum

es exped ut ute voluptur am fuga. Nam aboreprovide

endis eum vitissi voloribus ad erspeliquias deles et

voluptat mod qui ius eost omnisqu iberem ipienda

volupta sequi unt.

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inum, con pos sapit facime poresci llaceriorepe con

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voloratem everum sit inciumque porepel ipsaper endebit

ommodit ent evelitam volor arum quia aut pa doluptae

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eris ditatiu ndipsa dolesse quamus, que offictum apis

opinion


Fuia diciis pro bla

quatus, ipit, ipis

magnien ihiliqui

dolupta sperionet

officiet ad que assi

conserrore volecte

mporehenis ut qui dolupta cum harum

sum, velibus con pero blaut dunto

destectur adia volo vollaci odi repe ium

inihitiusti tesequam illab imod quid que

velectur sam, cuptassin ped et facea core

aditiorro ma quidis aspero te verio to

eosaeperum ant plabore ctorrum etur?

Quis ut esecae nonestem anti blaudae

nimuscipidit laut estruptam sedit, sinum

nus incipiciam que eate nulpa quiatur

maio. Nam ex eatur? Pudamus et esse

optaturia ius et laborro vitatia tectotati

rat qui quo que in nos etur res endi re

voluptas il magnihilit inis quam res am,

ut moditio reperi untur, endia qui teculpa

videstiam etur, omnis reperionsed

quis aut inveliscid ut este nimostor

molesciassit aspella boreptis adiscit fugit

et quis invel earisquam ipsa coneceria

provita tintur andam et omnimus saepror

si beatinctur simagni scipsus ped ea core

molut velic testota doles et, ipsam dolo

evero od quo int volupta spellor rem eum

repedis rem. Nequaes et vendendandam

imillic imporenim eiciurionsed quatem.

Et et omnihit unt volectotat faceatinis as

re, conem sus, corrumendant voluptatem

quas corenis imaione caerspellab ius,

que ex ea illandi alit quistiberunt officipis

enis sum nis ius, ut officie ndanit min pe

dolupta tionsequam quaerio nsernam

viduciumque lamendae que si doloria

volorem porepernate experum volorer

atassim quam quam facium necaepra

vellora nimi, acimus ra perum exerchi

liquiam imusanime maioratia vendae ea

qui totatecto blandi dit quid eum vid

quam veris aliquiame et lantiam et ex

eos experferio con restiusdam quae di

ditaerr oreicia consequid el intur, vellupta

in porporum ea abore, si officia sequiam

id ut ario mi, quatem ipid qui nos vit,

simaio. Nament.

Net voluptas maximaion eni

NBNtime to deliver the goods

Even with the federal election now behind us, the National Broadband Network (NBN) remains a hot topic for debate among government and opposition parties. However, sifting through the issues, there are clear opportunities coming up for well-positioned government agencies as well as ICT vendors.

opinion


Even with the

federal election

now behind us,

the National

Broadband

Network (NBN)

remains a

hot topic for

debate among

government

and opposition

parties.

omnihillabo. Is etustorio dolupic

iendellaut es des min nonsequas volore

sererias est, odigenda net, vel ipsuntiunt

et harcia ea cus sam, ut am facidiae.

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que que enit hil mod que rere cus aut

mo velitiantum unt aditinimus quis sae

vellab id magnat.

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elecerunt.

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id magnihi lloria enis di dolut reperibus

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auta volor sequatectas audi consequi

delenti in rerum cupta deserem landa

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eiunti adi si aut ut vitinve rferferrum as et

et omnihil iasped quae ea nat.

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nimporerferi beratur? aliquame pelias

saped eum vel illo quam res sit hicid qui

sum serae assi soluptas am quatiatis eum

delique doluptatur ma ipsa sunt.

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conseque maio invelicabore quam nus,

inciendanim ulliti cus.

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ut omni soluptis aut volorib usantem

pererio rercid mi, cumetur am quam as

pa aut omni conse nihillor rest dipidero

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proUllaccumet lacerum quis ea quide

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voluptur sitatem alique nobit doloriorest

as pa ditem et qui ad ut aut exerum rest,

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molesto voluptate pores magnit, occum

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num simet, verupta tenistiis mo occum

sin parum fugiandipsam il eum excest

velendis re, esequae porepre rferorp

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cusci inisquam quodipide milit, temque

pla dit, sant iumquae. Solo qui dolupti

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tatest, nonsequae iderspiducia sinullu

ptiaepedis seratis as dolum sim fugiatum

quibusti tem. Ut ut rescipi duciuriam

vendias re pellum essi audam et quae

comnihilit aut il ipsam repernam eum

et voluptas apis experum ium rendus,

soluptatem velenet modignam qui qui

doluptaqui consequatemo quaspicillab

int asperum es exped ut ute voluptur

am fuga. Nam aboreprovide endis eum

AustrAliA waited on tenterhooks following the August Federal Election, wondering who

would form government and which way the independents would jump.It’s now history that while Bob Katter ended up plumping for the Liberals, Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor went with Labor, allowing Julia Gillard to form a minority government.However, it was the reasons why Oakeshott and Windsor went with Labor that were, for those interested

in technology, the most illuminating part of the whole game. On that day on September 7, Tony Windsor took the microphone ahead of Oakeshott. After thanking both leaders, he got down to business. And the business at hand was technology – in particular, the National Broadband Network (NBN).“The issues that I thought were critical to this ... was broadband. There’s an enormous opportunity for regional Australia to engage with the infrastructure of this century,” said Windsor.He continued: “My advisors in relation to the broadband technology – and there are a number of them – suggest that you do it once, you do it right and you do it with fibre.”In one breath, he captured what had become (boat people aside) the most divisive issue of the entire campaign. The incumbent Labor government promised to

spend around $43 billion wiring the nation with fibre. The Opposition took exception to the dollars being spent, and in the final days of the campaign came back with a $6 billion counter-offer that threw a variety of existing technologies, including wireless and a fibre back-haul, into the mix.Since then, the NBN has remained as divisive as ever. Liberal leader Tony Abbott appointed Malcolm Turnbull to the role of Shadow Communications Minister, with a specific remit to take the government to task on the NBN.

A few short hours after winning the portfolio, Turnbull blasted the NBN scheme, saying that it would waste “tens of billions” of taxpayer dollars. In response to the Labor government likening the NBN to the Snowy River Scheme, Turnbull had this to say in an Internet post:“A joint Commonwealth and State Snowy River Committee was established to investigate the financial viability of the proposal.... The cost of the project was thoroughly analysed, as were the benefits to electricity generation and irrigation.”Turnbull argued that whatever the economic or environmental impact of the Snowy Scheme may look like today, the infrastructure project had been the subject of a “rigorous analysis” and public debate before construction was commenced.“So the question for Julia Gillard is this: if the Snowy Mountains scheme

is to be the benchmark for national infrastructure, why is her so-called 21st century equivalent proceeding without any of the analysis that preceded the Snowy scheme?” the post read.That was enough for Stephen Conroy, the reappointed Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, to come out swinging. Speaking on ABC News24, Conroy said that “[Turnbull] came out and opposed, opposed, opposed. He opposed legislation almost unilaterally — it doesn’t matter what it was, he opposed it all when he became leader — and the same is happening again.” “We have this piece of legislation that Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull won’t pass in the parliament and have stalled for eight months.” Conroy was referring to telecommunications reform, and in particular the potential structural separation of Telstra. He then veered back to the NBN, saying that “there will be a slower rollout, there will be a more expensive total cost of the build caused by Tony Abbott — we will have more overhead cabling because of Tony Abbott.”The ABC’s Insiders program gave Turnbull the opportunity to shoot back, saying that he is “not seeking to wreck or destroy anything, nor demolish”.“My objective is to get some real transparency and accountability on this. We need to have a more informed debate about it. We are talking about spending a really stupendous amount of money, and our job in the Opposition is to hold them to account for that,” he said.Turnbull said that the opposition’s broadband policy had not changed post-

IT policy evolves,post-electionthe Federal Election cliffhanger hinged on the National Broadband Network, but other it policies are now coming into play, writes Josh Gliddon

You do it once, you do it right and you do it with fibre.” tony Windsor

FEATURES

10 | www.govtechreview.com.au

election, but he also intimated that it would evolve over the ensuing three years, saying that it was only logical that it should do so. He was unable, however, to clarify how it would change, or over what timeframe those changes would occur.

Digital productivityOne of the lesser-known technology policy developments following the election also concerns Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy. In addition to his existing Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Ministry, Conroy was made Minister Assisting the PM on Digital Productivity.The move was generally well

received, with industry figures applauding Conroy’s additional responsibilities. Speaking with industry publication, Computerworld, the Australian Information Industry Association’s Chief Executive, Ian Birks, said that the appointment created opportunities for the key messages of ICT to be promulgated at the highest levels of government.“We find it hard as an industry to engage with the Health Department, the Education Department or with energy agencies, so this minister and portfolio is a great opportunity to drive these issues to the advantage of our industry,” he told the publication.

The Australian Computer Society’s Chief Executive, Bruce Lakin, was equally bullish about the additional responsibilities, saying that it would “firmly link ICT with productivity”.Information technology funding also found itself in the crosshairs during the election campaign, with the Gillard government deciding to take the razor to the $1 billion ICT Investment Fund that was established in the wake of the Gershon Review. The government has promised to cut the fund by nearly half ($447.5 million) in a bid to return the budget to surplus within three years, a move that raised eyebrows in some quarters.AGIMO gets a new master

Also in the wake of the election was the shift of ICT responsibilities via the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) from the portfolio of Minister Penny Wong to that of Special Minister of State, Gary Gray. In the past, AGIMO has traditionally sat within the finance portfolio.The move hasn’t stopped AGIMO from innovating. In early October, it announced through its blog that government agencies should now license their Public Sector Information (PSI) under Creative Commons BY licence as the default licence type and only adopt more restrictive licences after a process of

“due diligence and on a case-by-case basis”.e-health also remains a key IT platform for the federal government following the kick off of its e-health policy in July this year. On July 1, every Australian, along with Australian health service providers and clinicians, became eligible for a 16-digit individual healthcare identifier number.The government had pre-committed $467 million to creating personal electronic healthcare records for every Australian by 2012. The election did not change this commitment, which is viewed by the industry as an inadequate figure to establish a full service e-health

system in Australia. It is, however, seen as a good first step. The Liberals had said that they would kill off the $467 million commitment if they won office in a bid to return the budget to the black. With the re-election of the Labor party, e-health, which is overseen by the Department of Health and Ageing and implemented by the National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA), is likely to go ahead.The NBN and e-health are intimately entwined, with electronic health applications, such as imaging and teleconsulting, seen as major uses of ubquitous, high-speed broadband. The key takeout in the election fallout isn’t the massive number of

new policies that have arisen, but the fact that it’s more of the same, and that more of the same means that Australia is inexorably heading down the path towards broadband everywhere, and a technologically literate health system.

Senator Stephen Conroy, now also

the Minister Assisting the PM on

Digital Productivity

‘‘Government agencies should now license Public sector information (Psi) under Creative Commons —as the default licence type.’’

“if the snowy Mountains scheme is to be the benchmark for national infrastructure, why is [the NBN] proceeding without any of the analysis that preceded the snowy scheme?” Malcolm turnbull

DecemBer 2010 | 11

Australia waited on tenterhooks

following the august Federal

Election, wondering who would

form government and which way the

independents would jump.

it’s now history that while Bob Katter

ended up plumping for the liberals, rob

Oakeshott and tony Windsor went with

labor, allowing Julia Gillard to form a

minority government.

However, it was the reasons why

Oakeshott and Windsor went with

labor that were, for those interested in

technology, the most illuminating part

of the whole game. On that day on

september 7, tony Windsor took the

microphone ahead of Oakeshott. after

thanking both leaders, he got down to

business. and the business at hand was

technology – in particular, the National

Broadband Network (NBN).

“the issues that i thought were critical

to this ... was broadband. there’s an

enormous opportunity for regional

australia to engage with the infrastructure

of this century,” said Windsor.

He continued: “My advisors in relation to

the broadband technology – and there are

a number of them – suggest that you do it

once, you do it right and you do it with

fibre.”

in one breath, he captured what had

become (boat people aside) the most

divisive issue of the entire campaign. the

incumbent labor government promised to

spend around $43 billion wiring the nation

with fibre. the Opposition took exception

to the dollars being spent, and in the final

days of the campaign came back with a $6

billion counter-offer that threw a variety

of existing technologies, including wireless

and a fibre back-haul, into the mix.

since then, the NBN has remained as

divisive as ever. liberal leader tony abbott

appointed Malcolm turnbull to the role of

shadow Communications Minister, with

a specific remit to take the government to

task on the NBN.

a few short hours after winning the

portfolio, turnbull blasted the NBN

scheme, saying that it would waste “tens of

billions” of taxpayer dollars. in response to

the labor government likening the NBN

to the snowy river scheme, turnbull had

this to say in an internet post:

“a joint Commonwealth and state snowy

river Committee was established to

investigate the financial viability of the

proposal.... the cost of the project was

thoroughly analysed, as were the benefits

to electricity generation and irrigation.”

turnbull argued that whatever the

economic or environmental impact of the

snowy scheme may look like today, the

infrastructure project had been the subject

of a “rigorous analysis” and public debate

before construction was commenced.

“so the question for Julia Gillard is this: if

the snowy Mountains scheme is to be the

benchmark for national infrastructure, why

is her so-called 21st century equivalent

proceeding without any of the analysis that

preceded the snowy scheme?” the post

read.

that was enough for stephen Conroy,

the reappointed Minister for Broadband,

Communications and the Digital

Economy, to come out swinging.

speaking on aBC News24, Conroy said

that “[turnbull] came out and opposed,

opposed, opposed. He opposed legislation

almost unilaterally — it doesn’t matter

what it was, he opposed it all when

he became leader — and the same is

happening again.”

“We have this piece of legislation that

tony abbott and Malcolm turnbull won’t

pass in the parliament and have stalled

for eight months.” Conroy was referring

to telecommunications reform, and in

particular the potential structural separation

of telstra. He then veered back to the

NBN, saying that “there will be a slower

rollout, there will be a more expensive

total cost of the build caused by tony

abbott — we will have more overhead

cabling because of tony abbott.”

the aBC’s insiders program gave turnbull

the opportunity to shoot back, saying that

he is “not seeking to wreck or destroy

anything, nor demolish”.

IT policy evolves,post-electionthe Federal Election cliffhanger hinged on the National Broadband Network, but other it policies are now coming into play, writes Josh Gliddon

You do it once, you do it right and you do it with fibre.” tony Windsor

FEATURES


“My objective is to get some real

transparency and accountability

on this. We need to have a more

informed debate about it. We are

talking about spending a really

stupendous amount of money, and

our job in the Opposition is to hold

them to account for that,” he said.

turnbull said that the opposition’s

broadband policy had not changed

post-election, but he also intimated

that it would evolve over the ensuing

three years, saying that it was only

logical that it should do so. He was

unable, however, to clarify how

it would change, or over what

timeframe those changes would

occur.

Digital productivityOne of the lesser-known

technology policy developments

following the election also concerns

Communications Minister, stephen

Conroy. in addition to his existing

Broadband, Communications and the

Digital Economy Ministry, Conroy

was made Minister assisting the PM

on Digital Productivity.

the move was generally well

received, with industry figures

applauding Conroy’s additional

responsibilities. speaking

with industry publication,

Computerworld, the australian

information industry association’s

Chief Executive, ian Birks, said

that the appointment created

opportunities for the key messages of

iCt to be promulgated at the highest

levels of government.

“We find it hard as an industry to

engage with the Health Department,

the Education Department or with

energy agencies, so this minister and

portfolio is a great opportunity to

drive these issues to the advantage

of our industry,” he told the

publication.

the australian Computer society’s

Chief Executive, Bruce lakin, was

equally bullish about the additional

responsibilities, saying that it would

“firmly link iCt with productivity”.

information technology funding

also found itself in the crosshairs

during the election campaign, with

the Gillard government deciding to

take the razor to the $1 billion iCt

investment Fund that was established

in the wake of the Gershon review.

the government has promised to

cut the fund by nearly half ($447.5

million) in a bid to return the budget

to surplus within three years, a

move that raised eyebrows in some

quarters.

aGiMO gets a new master

also in the wake of the election

was the shift of iCt responsibilities

via the australian Government

information Management Office

(aGiMO) from the portfolio of

Minister Penny Wong to that of

special Minister of state, Gary Gray.

in the past, aGiMO has traditionally

sat within the finance portfolio.

the move hasn’t stopped aGiMO

from innovating. in early October,

it announced through its blog

that government agencies should

now license their Public sector

information (Psi) under Creative

Commons BY licence as the default

licence type and only adopt more

restrictive licences after a process of

“due diligence and on a case-by-case

basis”.

e-health also remains a key it

platform for the federal government

following the kick off of its e-health

policy in July this year. On July

1, every australian, along with

australian health service providers

and clinicians, became eligible for

a 16-digit individual healthcare

identifier number.

the government had pre-committed

$467 million to creating personal

electronic healthcare records

for every australian by 2012.

the election did not change this

commitment, which is viewed by the

industry as an inadequate figure to

establish a full service e-health system

in australia. it is, however, seen as

a good first step. the liberals had

said that they would kill off the $467

million commitment if they won

office in a bid to return the budget

to the black. With the re-election

of the labor party, e-health, which

is overseen by the Department of

Health and ageing and implemented

by the National E-Health transition

authority (NEHta), is likely to go

ahead.

the NBN and e-health are

intimately entwined, with electronic

health applications, such as imaging

and teleconsulting, seen as major uses

of ubquitous, high-speed broadband.

the key takeout in the election

fallout isn’t the massive number of

new policies that have arisen, but

the fact that it’s more of the same,

and that more of the same means

that australia is inexorably heading

down the path towards broadband

everywhere, and a technologically

literate health system.

Senator Stephen Conroy, now also

the Minister Assisting the PM on

Digital Productivity

‘‘Government agencies should now license Public sector information (Psi) under Creative Commons —as the default licence type.’’

“if the snowy Mountains scheme is to be the benchmark for national infrastructure, why is [the NBN] proceeding without any of the analysis that preceded the snowy scheme?” Malcolm turnbull

DecemBer 2010 | 13

Editorial Advisory BoardGovernment Technology Review’s Editorial Advisory Board continues to grow,

with Australian Information Industry Association Chief Executive Officer Ian Birks

joining us for this issue. Ian becomes part of a process that sees us ask our members,

through an online form, what they felt about the previous issue.

Another applauded our columnist, Ovum’s Kevin Noonan, for his critique

on shared service. “It’s an example

of what continues to be happening

in the world of IT projects and

government strategy for shared

services,” wrote our board member.

“Too many chiefs and not sufficient

understanding of business needs and

processes. Also, another example

of the difference between IT project

management for implementing a new

technology system/solution and the

need for a sound implementation/

change management/continuous

improvement plan lead by the

business.”

MEET yOuR BOARdEach month, we also ask some of

our board members to share their

opinions about the challenges they

face. This month, four members have

helped us out, by answering four

questions.

Q: As a government IT leader, are

there any new challenges that have

become a priority this year, or that you

see emerging in 2011?

A: Adam Holthouse, Manager,

Information and Communication

at City of Armadale responded that

“Managing growth is a big one for

cities that have huge development

potential. This year alone we expect

our data storage requirements to

grow 3.5 times. This not only leads

to problems in managing the data,

but also to data centre floor space,

rack density, power, cooling,

disaster recovery needs all need to

be reviewed to cater for expansion.

Obviously, this then leads to impact

on the IT budget and priority against

competing business cases from other

business units who also feel the pinch

from development and the need to

expand resources.”

“2011 I think will begin to bring

about the real possibilities of cloud

for local governments. A focus on

beginning to better understand each

other’s idiosyncrasies and align

standards and some research into

how local government can get value

from either a gov cloud or hybrid cloud

environment.”

Bob Gilchrist, IBM’s zSoftware

Sales Leader, responded that

“Canberra remains the largest user

of mainframe MIPs in Australia by a

factor of 150 per cent. Many of the

skilled resources are approaching

retirement,” creating a possible move

to re-platform some applications in

order to find skilled workers.

Q: What do you think the new federal

government’s technology policy

priority should be?

A: Linda Shave, former Information

Integration and Compliance Manager

at City of Ryde, wrote that at least one

new national standard is needed.

data and information protection for

all government agencies and a single

approach to information lifecycle,

are atop her policy wishlist, and she

hopes this can be driven by federal

government rather than the current

state-by-state development of

policies, procedures and standards. ”

Q: No-one seems to know what a

national broadband network will be

good for, other than fast Facebook,

video downloads, telemedicine and

education. What applications have

you imagined that would work better

on a faster, pervasive, network?

A: City of Armadale’s Holthouse

believes the NBN will be very beneficial

for his local government area.

“I hope it will improve the ability of

our community to get connected

and take advantage of the existing

functions of the Internet, not just those

that will eventually be developed

because of greater bandwidth,” he

wrote. “The last census showed

us that we have quite a low take-up

of broadband connectivity in our

community. Obviously there are

other factors aside from it just not

being available, but we are hoping

that the NBN will at least increase

the opportunity available to get

connected within our community. I

can see as an organisation the ability

to take advantage of using the NBN to

improve our ability to take advantage

of cloud services both onsite, and

offsite.”

Q: Can you get the people you need

at present, and what are the skills you

wish you could find more of?

A: dr. Catherine Jaktman,

director Federal Government at

global sourcing advisory firm TPI

says,“ Procurement and contract

negotiations skills are lacking:

Government is not skilled and

experienced in this area. Government

personnel also have poor written

communications skills, [and]

this skill seems to be lacking in IT

professionals.

Feedback from Issue 2 was mixed, which is good. One member of the board felt our feature on recent Council

telephony upgrades was “really old hat [and] not news at all”. Stories that generated far more positive feedback

included our report on how ministerial Websites are remade as new appointees fill these roles. “Great story on the

need for rapid response teams in the IT space; and the need for archiving,” wrote one board member.

FeatureS


DecemBer 2010 | 15

16 | g o v TE c h R E v i E w.c o m . A U

HEADING ON COLUMNOne such lesson is the idea

of ‘creative destruction’,

popularised during the

Second World War by

Austrian-born economist

Joseph Schumpeter,

who was then teaching at

Harvard. ‘He argued that

economies have an internal

rhythm of maturing and

then collapse.’ Elkington

says are like the rapid re-

growth that occurs after the

devastation of a bushfire.

HEADING ON COLUMNHaving worked through

several collapses himself,

however, Elkington

readily admits that the

immediate effects can be

very unpleasant indeed:

‘Every time you have one

of these meltdowns, you

get the rise of political

extremism, nationalism and

racism. Only after a longer

period of time do you get

Mailbox Heading on columnOne such lesson is the idea of ‘creative destruction’,

popularised during the second World War by Austrian-

born economist Joseph schumpeter, who was then

teaching at Harvard. ‘He argued that economies have

an internal rhythm of maturing and then collapse.’

Elkington says are like the rapid re-growth that occurs

after the devastation of a bushfire.

One such lesson is the idea of ‘creative destruction’,






after the devastation of a bushfire. One such lesson is

the idea of ‘creative destruction’, popularised during

the second World War by Austrian-born economist

Joseph schumpeter, who was then teaching at Harvard.

‘He argued that economies have an internal rhythm of

maturing and then collapse.’ Elkington says are like the

rapid re-growth that occurs after the devastation of a

bushfire.

‘He argued that economies have an internal rhythm

of maturing and then collapse.’ Elkington says are like

the rapid re-growth that occurs after the devastation of

a bushfire. ‘He argued that economies have an internal

rhythm of maturing and then collapse.’ Elkington

says are like the rapid re-growth that occurs after the




the rapid re-growth that occurs after the devastation of

a bushfire.‘He argued that economies have an internal

rhythm of maturing and then collapse.’

One such lesson is the idea of ‘creative

destruction’, popularised during the Second

World War by Austrian-born economist

Joseph Schumpeter, who was then teaching

at Harvard. ‘He argued that economies

have an internal rhythm of maturing and then

collapse.’ Elkington says are like the rapid

re-growth that occurs after the devastation of

a bushfire.

One such lesson is the idea of ‘creative

destruction’, popularised during the Second

World War by Austrian-born economist

Joseph Schumpeter, who was then teaching

at Harvard. ‘He argued that economies

have an internal rhythm of maturing and then

collapse.’ Elkington says are like the rapid

re-growth that occurs after the devastation

of a bushfire. One such lesson is the idea of

‘creative destruction’, popularised during

the Second World War by Austrian-born

economist Joseph Schumpeter, who was

then teaching at Harvard. ‘He argued

that economies have an internal rhythm of

maturing and then collapse.’ Elkington says

are like the rapid re-growth that occurs after

the devastation of a bushfire.

‘He argued that economies have an internal

rhythm of maturing and then collapse.’


popularised during the Second World War by Austrian-

born economist Joseph Schumpeter, who was then

teaching at Harvard. ‘He argued that economies have an

internal rhythm of maturing and then collapse.’ Elkington











the Second World War by Austrian-born economist

Joseph Schumpeter, who was then teaching at Harvard.




bushfire.



Heading on column wide

Heading on column

NEWSin brief

D E c E m B E R 2 0 1 0 | 1 7

HEADING ON COLUMNOne such lesson is the idea



Second World War by


Joseph Schumpeter,

who was then teaching at

Harvard. ‘He argued that

economies have an internal

rhythm of maturing and then

collapse.’ While collapses

inevitably have negative

short-term consequences,

they also have positive long-

term ones, While collapses




term ones, While collapses




term ones,

HEADING ON COLUMNHaving worked through

several collapses himself,

however, Elkington readily

admits that the immediate

effects can be very

unpleasant indeed: ‘Every

time you have one of these

meltdowns, you get the

rise of political extremism,

nationalism and racism.

Only after a longer

EADING ON COLUMNOne such lesson is the idea



Second World War by


Joseph Schumpeter,

HEADING the box
































after the devastation of a bushfire.









the second World War by Austrian-born economist

Joseph schumpeter, who was then teaching at Harvard.




bushfire.



the rapid re-growth that occurs after the devastation

of a bushfire. the second World War by Austrian-born

economist Joseph schumpeter, who was then teaching

at Harvard. ‘He argued that economies have an internal

rhythm of maturing and then collapse.’ Elkington

says are like the rapid re-growth that occurs after

the devastation of a bushfire. second World War by

Austrian-born economist Joseph schumpeter, who was

then teaching at Harvard. ‘He argued that economies

have an internal rhythm of maturin after the devastation

of a bushfire.

Heading on column

Heading on column

Heading on column

IN SIDE

story

government technology review (tim)

Documents

nbn scheme

minority government

incumbent labor government

snowy scheme

tony windsor

snowy river scheme

national broadband network

snowy mountains scheme