Ipswich: Australia's First Online Community?

There has been a recent fad for Australia cities and states to devise digital strategies. Policy makers could do well to read Mal Bryce's book "Australia's First Online Community Ipswich Queensland" (Xlibris Corporation, 2010). This recounts the efforts by an inland Australia city to reinvent itself as a high tech center. The book provides a useful history lesson in the early days of the Internet and the difficulties of attracting high technology ventures to a region.

Of particular interest to me were the effort the Ipswich City Council wet to to attract a campus of the University of Queensland, the time this took and the political considerations in the eventual location (which is a former mental asylum). While Australia's capital cities can take for granted they will have tertiary education facilities, other regions have to work hard to obtain such facilities (see my study for the Great Southern Region of WA and proposal for Canberra).

Mal Bryce spoke about the Ipswich proj3t at the "Public Access to Networked Information" conference at the Australian Academy of Science in Canberra, in 1994. This conference included a number of people who were influential in establishing the Internet in Australia, but are not known outside their own professional circles, such as Geoff Huston and Michele Huston. I recall this conference well, as after Roger Clarke gave his presentation I could hear him typing revisions to his paper at the back of the room on a very noisy laptop. Mal Bryce's "High Capacity Broadband: an Economic, Environmental and Social Imperative" (2009) is referenced by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications NBN report "Broadening the debate".

ps: Thanks to the National Library of Australia for a copy of Mal's book, in their excellent reading room.

ICT Sustainability Global Benchmark Report

A drop of 2.2% in the global ICT Sustainability Index (ITSx) over the last year indicates that CIOs have made little headway implementing power saving measures in the computer systems. The figures are contained in the "ICT Sustainability: The Global Benchmark 2012 Report" was sponsored by Fujitsu and used a methodology developed by Connection Research and RMIT University. The USA did well (ITSx of 57.3) , compared to Australia with 50.1.

The report recommends that organizations should track their ICT energy use, however I suggest this will not lead directly to savings. As has been shows with domestic smart meters, the monitoring may simply cause frustration as energy saving primarily requires capital investment and so there is little to be gained from real time monitoring. I teach students of  my ICT Sustainability course to prepare back-of-the envelope estimates of energy use and then concentrate their efforts on convincing senior management of the need for changes in investment.

Victorian Whole of Government ICT Strategy

The Victorian government has announced work on a Whole of Government ICT Strategy. This follows an Ombudsman and Auditor-General released a "Own motion investigation into ICT-enabled projects" (November 2011).

The Ombudsman and AG looks at ten major Victorian IT projects which were over-budget and under performed. The best known of the problem projects is the MyKi smart ticketing system. The problems found are common to IT projects in the public and private sectors and the remedies will be familiar to any student of IT.

It is well know in the IT profession that many IT projects fail and that these failures are usually due to problems of project governance, not technical issues. When working for the Defence Department I part of a team which did a quick investigation of an IT project each week. These projects had sincere hardworking staff, who in most cases knew what was wrong, but were trapped in a system which would not admit failure.

Unfortunately, these days as an ICT consultant, I am called in only after a project has failed to be an expert witness in court cases, when blame is being assigned. Given a pile of project documents about a metre high, I can usually find the point (about one third from the start of the project), where it started to go wrong. This is where the project plan said the project was to meet a milestone, but did not. Rather than stop the project at this point and rectify the problem (or cancel the project), the management choose to keep going and hope for the best, which does not happen.

This "hope for the best" attitude is something I help teach IT students at the Australian National University to avoid. It will be interesting to see how the Victorian Government's new strategy evolves.

Some excerpts from the 125 page report:

Contents
Foreword
Executive summary

• Common themes
  
• Framework to better manage ICT-enabled projects

Background

• What is ICT?
  
• History
• Investigation
• Cabinet documents
• CenITex
• Report structure

Common themes

1. Leadership, accountability and governance
2. Planning
3. Funding
4. Probity and procurement
5. Project management

Framework to better manage ICT-enabled projects and recommendations

1. Leadership, accountability and governance
2. Planning
3. Funding
4. Probity and procurement
5. Project management

Case studies

1. Link
2. HealthSMART
3. myki
4. RandL
5. Client Relationship Information System (CRIS)
6. Ultranet
7. Integrated Courts Management System (ICMS)
   
8. Property and Laboratory Management (PALM)
9. HRAssist
10. Housing Integrated Information Program (HIIP)

...

Framework to better manage ICT-enabled projects ...

Leadership, accountability and governance
• Agency executives are to show stronger leadership; robust governance practices are to be implemented; and project staff are to be held to account for the performance of ICT-enabled projects.
• The role of DTF in ICT-enabled projects is to be enhanced and the value of Gateway as a mechanism for external oversight and accountability is to be capitalised.

Planning
• Business cases for some of the projects I examined were not subjected to adequate scrutiny. I have made recommendations to improve the level of scrutiny applied. The government’s ’high-value and high-risk’ process introduced in 2010 also provides for increased
scrutiny of business cases.

Funding
• Agencies are to adopt a whole of life approach to costing and funding major ICT systems and DTF is to assist by establishing a maintenance and replacement fund for these systems.
• The government is to consider refining how projects are funded to make agencies more accountable to government throughout the life of major ICT-enabled projects.

Probity and procurement
• Agencies are to adopt stricter probity practices.
• Agencies are to adopt robust approaches to purchasing ICT systems; DTF is to explore the potential to harness best practice procurement practices from other countries; and the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office is to examine and endorse all proposed contracts before they are signed to ensure the contract protects the interests of the state.

Project management
• Agencies are to adopt established project management methods.
• DTF and the State Services Authority (SSA) are to develop strategies to recruit and retain skilled ICT staff within government and better monitor the quality of work provided by contractors. ...

3. myki

Key issues
• The project is at least $350 million over budget and at least four years behind schedule.
• The Transport Ticketing Authority (TTA) was overly optimistic in believing it could achieve a two-year delivery of the system: less than half that achieved elsewhere in the world.
• The project proposed an ‘open architecture’43 solution: an approach not previously undertaken, heightening associated risk.
• The ‘outcomes-based’44 agreement proved problematic to manage and led to ambiguities and specification ‘creep’.
• Two Chief Executive Officers departed the TTA shortly following failure by the TTA to meet key delivery dates.
• Initially, the TTA board did not have the requisite number of appointees with relevant experience when needed.
• The Department of Transport (DOT)45 had responsibility for ticketing policy issues, but did not have a representative on the board. In my view, it should have.
• The TTA was highly critical of the quality of the project managers employed by the vendor. ...


From: Own motion investigation into ICT-enabled projects, Victorian Ombudsman and Victorian Auditor-General, November 2011

Australian Satellite Services Working Group

A Satellite Services Working Group has been established by the industry body, the Communications Alliance to look at use of satellites as part of the National Broadband Network (NBN). The group includes Optus, NBN Co, Telstra, Newsat, Intelsat, Thales, APN, Indigo Telecom, SES New Skies and Coutts Communications.

Parliamentary Report on NBN

The report "Broadening the debate: Inquiry into the role and potential of the National Broadband Network" has been released by the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications. The full report is 426 pages, available as one 4.3 Mbyte PDF file or chapter by chapter (with a HTML version to follow). This is a mostly upbeat report about what the NBN could be used for (if we had it), rather than looking into the cost of building it.

Report Contents

• Preliminary pages: Contents, Foreword, Committee Membership, Terms of Reference, List of Abbreviations and List of Recommendations

1. Introduction
2. Government services
3. Health
   
4. Education
   
5. Infrastructure and the environment
   
6. Economic development and diversification
   
7. Research and innovation
   
8. Community and social
9. Network capacity and technology
   
10. Government coordination

• Dissenting report: Mr Paul Neville, MP, Mr Paul Fletcher, MP, Mrs Jane Prentice, MP

Appendices

1. Background
2. Glossary of Terms
3. Submissions
4. Exhibits
5. Public Hearings

Recommendations:

1. That the Government continue to coordinate the implementation of the National Digital Economy Strategy across government, ensuring appropriate regulatory frameworks are in place and promoting a consistent trans-sector approach to supporting its goals.
2. That the Government require its departments to report against the goals identified in the National Digital Economy Strategy in their annual reports.
3. That the Government continues to implement broadband-enabled technologies into its own services and operations as a means of improving efficiency, as well as to encourage NBN uptake and utilisation.
4. That the Government continue to support strategically targeted pilot projects in cooperation with relevant industries and communities that model innovative applications of the NBN.
5. That the Government consider allocating resources to each Regional Development Australia committee to allow these bodies to provide enhanced local digital economy leadership. This leadership role should include identifying regional goals and implementing related strategies and programs.
6. That the Federal Government develop a comprehensive engagement strategy incorporating a range of approaches to promote the uptake of broadband and digital technologies during the NBN rollout.
7. That, recognising the important roles of public libraries and community centres, the Federal Government works in an appropriate capacity to implement a network of public access points connected to high speed NBN services in as many communities as possible.
8. That the Federal Government, with other organisations as appropriate, develop targeted programs for those currently disadvantaged by the digital divide to improve awareness of publicly available high-speed internet facilities, to improve access, and to promote the development of relevant skills.
9. That the Government provide continued support for organisations involved in the development of high speed broadband applications.
10. That the Government maintains regulatory support to encourage increased levels of research and innovation in the private sector and recognises the NBN’s importance to the realisation of its innovation agenda.
11. That the Government develop a strategy for the digitisation of Australia’s culturally and historically significant content.
12. That the Government facilitate discussions between representatives of key content industries and internet service providers to work towards an agreed framework for minimising online copyright theft.
13. That the Government provide further support for digital literacy programs, based on the Broadband for Seniors kiosk model, making use of existing resources such as libraries and not-for-profit groups where possible.
14. That the Government continue to support programs that equip small and medium enterprises with the knowledge and support they need to compete in the digital economy.
15. That the Government develop strategies for the collection and provision of data on workforce needs in the ICT sector into the future.
16. That the Government develop a long term strategy to up-skill and/or retrain the existing workforce and develop new training programs to address emerging skills gaps.

My Submission Cited

My submission "Broadband for a Broad Land" has been cited six times in the report. I suggested the NBN could help with education, but this will require a large investment in teaching teachers how to teach on-line (a topic I am studying on-line). Also I discussed how the NBN could help the environment, but this would take some planning and investment.

While it says in the report "... Mr Worthington also told the Committee ...", the committee did not ask me to give verbal evidence and has gone just by what was in my written submission. This shows the value of a carefully written submission, which has been formatted so it is easy to cut and paste from. ;-)

Quotes:

Chapter 4: Education

4.98 Mr Tom Worthington, an independent IT consultant and computer scientist based in Canberra, stated in his submission to the Committee that governments are paying for ‘unnecessary duplication’ across education sectors in both online learning and physical infrastructure. Mr Worthington wrote that substantial savings could be obtained through the creation of an ‘Australian Learning Commons’ consisting of multi-use school buildings and free sharing of teaching materials throughout Australia:

Despite work on a national curriculum ... individual teachers have to find materials to teach. Sharing of materials can be facilitated by the use of Creative Commons licensing, which allows any teacher to use the materials produced by any Australian educator, without the need for separate permission or payment of fees. ¹⁰⁹

4.99 Mr Worthington noted that the long term restructuring of the education systems towards a more efficient and effective ‘blended’ mode of education will require ‘retraining of teachers, restructuring of courses and the remodelling of buildings’ at a cost ‘far higher than for the implementation of the NBN itself’. ¹¹⁰ However, he also noted that due to the relative size of Australia’s expenditure on education, if the NBN can enable a 10 per cent reduction in the cost of education it would be enough to pay for the entire network within eight years. ¹¹¹

From: Page 94

Chapter 5: Infrastructure and the environment

5.2 The Committee was told that an expanded digital economy, supported and enhanced by the NBN, can provide a means to ‘dematerialise’ the traditional economy. That is, it can replace ‘physical goods and activities with network based alternatives’, ¹ ...

1. Mr Tom Worthington, Submission 17, p. 4.

From: Page 97

5.11 The Committee acknowledges the views of some contributors that the NBN also has the potential to harm the environment and therefore supports constructive advice to mitigate any negative impacts. Mr Tom Worthington submitted that the technology being deployed in the NBN is relatively energy efficient; however, as the NBN will be overall a very large user of electricity, the network should be designed in such a way to minimise energy consumption:

... for a given technology, as the data rate increases, so does the power consumption. Most of the time, most of the NBN will be carrying little or no data. The equipment used should therefore be designed to switch to a low power mode to conserve energy when possible. ¹³ ...

5.12 Mr Worthington also told the Committee that ‘in the absence of sufficient planning and investment, there is a risk the NBN will harm the environment through the creation of electronic waste’, in particular the back-up batteries provided with NBN Co’s household units and equipment such as ADSL modems that will be made obsolete under a FTTP network. ¹⁴ Citing similar concerns, the Communications Alliance indicated to the Committee that it ‘strongly supports’ an ‘opt-in’ policy for NBN back-up batteries to help minimise the potential for improper disposal of such waste. ¹⁵

From: Page 99 of Broadening the debate: Inquiry into the role and potential of the National Broadband Network, Report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications, Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, August 2011

Mini Wireless Keyboard for Presentations

The CeBIT Australia 2011 computer exhibition and conference is on at Sydney's Darling Harbour until 2 June 2011. My favourite gadget of the show was the Rii Mini Wireless Keyboard. This hand held unit is about the size of a TV remote control, but provides a replacement for a mouse and keyboard. The unit has a postage stamp sized touch-pad, with buttons to emulate a mouse and communicates with a computer via Bluetooth.

The unit is designed to operate with a Google Android, Linux, Windows or Apple Mac computer. As well as the track pad it has a miniature QWERTY keyboard. One clever feature is that you can operate the device in landscape mode as a miniature keyboard, for example to enter the address of a web page or presentation. Then you can turn the unit around and hold it like a remote control to give the presentation . The mouse pad's orientation is changed using Fn-Alt and then can be operated with a thumb. The keyboard is also backlit and there is a laser pointer.

The unit comes with a USB Bluetooth transceiver and a CD-ROM of software, but instead of these I found the unit worked fine with the the hardware and software already in my netbook computer.

The unit is not perfect: I had to attach the Bluetooth transceiver to the USB extension cable supplied, to get sufficient range. The back-light has to be manually switched on (an auto off a few seconds after the last key press would be preferable). The touch-pad is very small and will take some getting used to.

Despite the limitations, this could prove very useful for presentations. This way I need not be tied to the net-book keyboard. I have tried using a wireless mouse, but then have to go back to the keyboard for entering the occasional web address.

Encomtech Australia Pty Ltd is offering the units for $AU70, which seems a little expensive, given that similar devices are on Amazon.com for around $US40.

ICT and the Environment in Indonesia

Dr Idris Sulaiman, will speak on "ICT-enablement in Environmental Social Movements in Indonesia" at the Australian National University, in Canberra, 3 June 2011.

COMPUTER SCIENCE SEMINAR

Research School of Computer Science

ICT-enablement in Environmental Social Movements in Indonesia. What are the challenges of aligning ICT and organizational strategies in a 'near-networked' nation?

Dr Idris Sulaiman (Research School of Computer Science, ANU)

DATE: 2011-06-03
TIME: 11:00:00 - 12:30:00
LOCATION: CSIT Building, CSIT Seminar Room, N101

ABSTRACT:
The Internet and social media can be used strategically to make social change. The paper examines leading environmental social movement organizations in Indonesia by assessing their ICT landscape and by examining the process of ICT-enablement based on a framework which has been specifically develop to suit the current conditions in Indonesia. Is Indonesia approaching a 'near-networked' nation? What does this imply for the social movement organizations (SMOs or NGOs) that are trying to organize both 'online' and 'off-line'? Will they have to master the move from information-layer to knowledge management? What will be the role of new media such as smartphones, social networks and a variety of open source software?
BIO:
Dr. Idris Sulaiman is a Visiting Fellow at the Research School of Computer Science, the Australian National University (ANU). His research interests include a number of applied areas of Information Communications Technology (ICT) including ICT energy efficiency (EE) and sustainability, development of EE standards and regulation as well as ICT for development particularly the implementation of e-government, e-Advocacy and ICT diffusion programs both in emerging and developed economies. He also works as an adviser for a number of sustainability and ICT related organisations including Connection Research and Foundation for IT Sustainability.

Report on ACT Government Procurement

The ACT Legislative Assembly has issued a report of the "Inquiry into ACT Government Procurement" today. This report is on how the local government of Canberra buys products and services. I made a written submission and talked to the committee on green ICT procurement and small ICT businesses. The committee report is 93 pages, with 25 recommendations. Here are the recommendations relevant to my evidence:

Recommendation 9

3.15 The Committee recommends that ACT Procurement Solutions investigate the viability of adopting the Commonwealth’s online tender system or modifying its own system to provide a similar targeted service to users. ...

Recommendation 13

3.46 The Committee recommends that the ACT Government ensure that regular training is provided for all officers engaged in procurement activities on the latest developments in public sector procurement.

Recommendation 15

The Committee recommends that the Chief Minister’s Annual Report 4.32 Directions be amended to specify that ACT Government agencies are to report on compliance with sustainable procurement requirements.

Recommendation 16

4.48 The Committee recommends that ACT Government agencies should be required to select goods, services and works on the basis of triple bottom line impacts. Guidelines should be developed to assess these impacts, including whole-of-life cycle impacts.

Recommendation 17

4.49 The Committee recommends that the ACT Auditor-General conduct a review of a selection of recent procurements to evaluate the influence that ACT Government sustainability policies are having on the procurement process.

Recommendation 18

4.50 The Committee recommends that explicit reference to sustainability, expressed in terms similar to those used in section 11 of the Financial Management Act 1996, be included in section 22A of the Government Procurement Act 2001 as matters which must be considered in pursuing “...the best value for money” objective.

Recommendation 19

4.51 The Committee recommends that the ACT Government ensure that all officers engaged in procurement activities receive training on: (i) incorporating sustainability considerations into the request for tender development process (ii) incorporating sustainability considerations into the tender selection process, and (iii) engaging with suppliers on sustainability issues. ...

From: Inquiry into ACT Government Procurement, Standing Committee on Public Accounts, ACT Legislative Assembly, 23 November 2010

Here are the mentions of my evidence in the report:

ICT tenders
3.9 Information and communications technology (ICT) is a sector characterised by many small and independent contractors. An independent Information Technology professional 45 , provided specific examples of inadequacies in the ACT’s online tender system which imposed a burden on the small-scale contractor:
...the ACT system every week sends me a notice saying that there are new ACT government tenders that I can apply for. But it does not say what they are. ... I then have to hunt around to see if there is anything relevant and to get a particular tender document I have to [type] in my ABN and all my details over and over again. 46

3.10 This was contrasted with the Commonwealth and New Zealand systems which allow the user to register company details and particular areas of interest and to access documentation with one click without the necessity of repeatedly providing details. 47

3.11 The individual IT professional, echoing the comments of the HIA quoted above, also described the procedures surrounding public indemnity insurance, which he is required to have, as a problem for micro businesses, involving the need to produce a statutory declaration of his income counter-signed by an auditor and an accountant. He also argued that the indemnity amount was set at an unrealistically high level for a one-person business. 48

3.12 In response to questions from the Committee, ACT Procurement Solutions outlined a number of steps being taken to streamline procedures with regard to ICT, in particular the implementation by InTACT, the ACT Government’s ICT service provider, of panel arrangements for consultant services. 49

45 Mr Tom Worthington, Transcript of evidence, 4 March 2010 and Submission No. 4, Mr Tom Worthington.
46 Mr Tom Worthington, Transcript of evidence, 4 March 2010, p. 2.
47 Ibid., p. 2.
48 Ibid., pp. 4-6.
49 Ms Robyn Hardy, Executive Director, ACT Procurement Solutions, Transcript of evidence, 30 March 2010, p. 50.
...

Procurement training

3.44 An individual noted in his submission to the Committee that the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) is a leader in the field of e-learning and that many nationally accredited courses in procurement were available. 74 He suggested that the ACT Government use this capability in its staff training. 75

74 Submission No. 4, Mr Tom Worthington.
75 Ibid., p. 1.

From: Inquiry into ACT Government Procurement, Standing Committee on Public Accounts, ACT Legislative Assembly, 23 November 2010

Digital Japan Creation Project

Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) released an "Digital Japan Creation Project Outline" 17 March 2009. Also known as the ICT Hatoyama Plan, this is a three year growth strategy for ICT industries, aiming for "several trillion yen" and up to 400,000 new jobs. This contains some interesting ideas, including the "Kasumigaseki Cloud", Green Cloud Data Centers, National Digital Archive and the Ubiquitous Town Concept. Here are some excerpts:

Overall Measures

Create New Digital Industries

1. Creating new industries through the effective use of the radio spectrum (creating industries worth tens of trillions of yen)
2. Accelerating innovative research and development to create new industries
3. Creating open innovation (creating ICT funds and reviewing startup company subsidy funds)

Ubiquitous Town Concept

1. Promoting the Ubiquitous Town Concept
2. Increasing convenience to local residents by encouraging the use of ICT (comprehensive use of ICT in health and medicine, education, and agriculture)
3. Using ICT to exhibit the vitality of small and medium businesses
4. Reinforcing the dissemination of regional information
5. Building electronic local governments

Development of Innovative Electronic Government

1. Development of innovative electronic government (creation of the Kasumigaseki Cloud)
2. Enhancing the convenience and expanding the use of public certification infrastructure
3. Using mobile phones and other digital devices
4. Developing support systems for online application
5. Creation of the National Digital Archive (tentative name)

Build Advanced Digital Networks

1. Eliminate the digital divide;
   
2. Implement measures for a smooth transition to terrestrial digital television

Enhancing the International Competitiveness of ICT Industries

1. Reinforce the Ubiquitous Alliance Project (accelerate solutions to problems in other countries using ICT) ;
2. Support the Digital Silk Road Concept

Development and Implementation of Ubiquitous Green ICT

1. Support development of energy-saving networks;
2. Green Cloud Data Centers;
3. Environmental measures using open sensor networks;
4. Quantify household CO2 emissions;
5. New work styles using Telework

Nurture and Reinforce Creative Industries

1. Support the integration of communications and broadcasting and the distribution of integrated content;
2. Develop content transaction markets;
3. Reinforce measures to prevent unauthorized distribution of content
4. Promote the use of digital content in education;
5. Encourage wide-area collaboration among cable television networks

Tapping the Potential of Industry
Tapping the Potential of Government
Tapping the Potential of Regional
Communities
Infrastructure Supporting Latent Potential
Creating Safe and Secure Networks

1. Preventing leaks of personal information and implementing measures against unlawful and harmful information under the Secure Network Development Promotion Program;
2. Develop network and terminal technologies and train information security personnel

Nurturing Highly-Skilled ICT Human Resources

1. Nurturing highly-skilled ICT human resources;
   
2. Training in ICT fields

2. Specific Policies
(1) Tapping the Potential of Industry: Creating New Digital Industries ...

(a) Creating new industries through effective use of the radio spectrum
... Research and development on next-generation wireless communications technologies will be accelerated so that the frequencies formerly used by analog television and new frequency allocation can be used to create cars that do not crash (the next-generation intelligent transport systems [ITS]), broadband for safe and secure lifestyles (public broadband), and convenient cordless living environments (wireless super broadband). ...

(b) Accelerating innovative technology research and development to create new industries ...
... next-generation optical communications, such as ultra-high-speed, energy-saving all-optical network
communications, and innovative networking technologies that boast the world’s highest
data transfer speeds, high reliability, and ultra-low power consumption, including secure and reliable next-generation cloud networking technologies, three-dimensional video technologies that do not rely on special glasses, and speech to speech translation
technologies breaking language barriers. ...

(c) Creating open innovation
By creating ICT funds, the integration of and collaboration between communications and broadcasting will be accelerated, and collaboration using the knowledge of different industries, including collaboration between ICT and other industries, will be supported to create open innovation. In addition, venture capital subsidy systems will be improved
to accelerate the development of new industries by startup companies.

(2) Tapping the Potential of Government: Creating the Kasumigaseki Cloud
... the government is providing the world’s most efficient services in a manner that is highly convenient to the public with the aim of actively introducing new technologies to create an innovative electronic
government.

(a) Creating innovative electronic government
Government information systems are using innovative technologies, such as cloud computing, to develop the Kasumigaseki Cloud (tentative name) in stages by 2015.

The Kasumigaseki Cloud will enable various ministries to collaborate to integrate and consolidate hardware and create platforms for shared functions. Efforts will be made to efficiently develop and operate information systems with the aim of greatly reducing electronic government–related development and operating costs while increasing the pace of processing by integrating shared functions, increasing collaboration among systems, and providing secure and advanced governmental services.

In addition, the various ministries are working to use uniform corporate codes to reduce workloads in the private sector (by reducing the number of documents that must be attached to various filings and similar measures).

Efforts are also being made to expand online applications by making public personal certification systems more convenient from the perspective of users and expanding their use, encouraging the use of digital devices that have become common in the day-to-day activities of the public, such as mobile phones, and establishing and improving support systems for online applications

(b) Building a National Digital Archive
A National Digital Archive (tentative name) will be constructed to digitize government documents, books and scholarly articles, cultural property information, geographic and time-space information, statistical information, and other information for which there is
high demand and to standardize formats and meta data to provide the highest degree of access to the public. New information and communication services will also be
developed and fostered.

(3) Tapping the Potential of Regional Communities: Promoting the Ubiquitous Town
Concept
Regional economies are becoming impoverished, and local governments are in a state of crisis. Because of this, revitalizing regional communities by using the power of ICT to make connections is an urgent task. ICT is playing a major role in reinforcing weakened ties among individuals and restoring links between individuals and communities. ICT will be used to renew local communities based on the autonomous settlement region concept espoused by the MIC.

(a) Promoting the ubiquitous town concept
The ubiquitous town concept will be implemented on a national scale with the aim of encouraging new development and testing to raise the level of ubiquitous computing technologies by supporting ubiquitous computing special region businesses, while making full and focused investment from various perspectives in ubiquitous computing technologies that are currently shifting from the testing to application phase, to create safe and secure towns.

Specific measures will include accelerating the development of infrastructure for connecting local public bodies implementing the autonomous settlement region concept, as well as universities, hospitals, libraries, public offices, and so on using broadband networks. This infrastructure will then be used as the foundation for focused implementation of a variety of projects, including monitoring systems for children and seniors, tourism and road information systems, installation of meteorological and disaster response systems using sensors, development of safe and secure public areas for local residents through various media that integrate local safety information, revitalization of local communities using regional social networking services, encouragement of mobile services designed for rural areas (services designed to address local problems using the networks of mobile phone carriers), and development of spatial code infrastructure. This will result in the development of environments in which local residents can directly experience the true value of ICT.

(b) Increasing convenience to local residents by encouraging the use of ICT
The various ministries will collaborate in connection with the ubiquitous town concept to promote the comprehensive use of ICT in health and medicine, education, and agriculture, areas in which enhanced convenience to local residents can be expected
through increased computerization.

• Providing peace of mind to the public in health and medicine fields
  Measures will be taken in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to improve healthcare sites and enhance patient services through the use of ICT to provide peace of mind to the public with respect to health and medicine. Specific measures will include implementation of remote healthcare, implementation of measures to improve health through the sharing and use of health and medical information, increasing the efficiency of healthcare services by using ASP, SaaS, and ubiquitous network technologies, and increasing the public’s peace of mind and safety.
• Creating educational sites that are beneficial to each student
  In order to create educational sites that are beneficial to each student, measures will be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to develop and spread new educational methods that use ICT, support improvements in information literacy among students and educators, and reduce the administrative workloads of educators. Specific measures will include accelerating the development of in-school LANs, distributing terrestrial digital televisions, developing and distributing educational materials on media literacy, educating students about information morals to promote the safe use of ICT, and computerizing school administrative work by using ASP and SaaS.
• Revitalizing agriculture through the use of ICT
  The MIC will collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in taking measures designed to maintain the sustainability of agriculture in Japan and ensure stable food supplies not only in Japan but worldwide by revitalizing agriculture through the use of the world’s most advanced information and communications infrastructure and related technologies. These measures will include measures against crops damaged by wildlife using monitoring cameras and sensors tied in with Hometown Mobile Projects, monitoring market conditions for agricultural products and placing and accepting orders over networks, and gathering information on and managing production history using wireless tags. Through these measures, efforts will be made to establish and spread knowledge and expertise concerning the use of ICT in agriculture from the perspectives of increasing agricultural productivity, expanding distribution and sales channels, and ensuring the safety of agricultural products.

(c) Using ICT to display the vitality of small and medium businesses
ICT will be used to develop infrastructure that will facilitate joint procurement of materials, joint training, and joint sales by regional small and medium businesses and sole proprietorships and enable them to expand their marketing areas nationwide and even globally. In addition, collaboration and use of ASP and SaaS in such areas as construction will be encouraged to expand the use of these technologies, which are expected to play a major role in raising corporate productivity.
(d) Reinforcing the dissemination of regional information
Support will be provided for broadcast stations and programming production companies to prepare programming about the local products and tourism assets of individual regions and distribute them nationwide so as to enhance regional programming production capabilities and stimulate local economies. Support will also be provided for distributing such content overseas through international broadcasts, by overseas broadcast stations, and via broadband, IPTV, and other media. ...
(e) Building electronic local governments
The MIC will identify issues concerning differences in measures for the introduction of electronic local government and accelerate the development of environments intended to eliminate those differences while reinforcing collaboration between the electronic
national government and electronic local governments.
Specifically, the MIC will encourage the use of shared systems that make use of ASP, SaaS, and cloud computing for front-office services, such as online applications, and for back-office operations, such as personnel matters and wage calculations.
Information systems will be updated to comply with standard specifications (a regional information platform) to foster collaboration among the systems of regional public bodies, efficient electronic local government will be expanded, and collaboration among the systems of regional public bodies, the national government, and private organizations will be encouraged to support the development of infrastructure for creating convenient and efficient services.
These measures to increase administrative efficiency will make possible reductions in administrative costs and focused investment, leading to improved resident services.
(4) Constructing Advanced Digital Networks
Japan offers the world’s most advanced broadband services, but residents in some regions are not able to enjoy these services. In addition, leading developed countries have started to focus their efforts on information and communications infrastructure
that can serve as a driving force behind the creation of new industries and economic growth, meaning that there is no guarantee that Japan’s prominent position can be maintained indefinitely. In response to this situation, the development of information
and communication infrastructure that will enable Japan to always stay one step ahead of the rest of the world is being accelerated.

(a) Eliminating the digital divide
Efforts are being accelerated to eliminate areas without broadband access and regions without mobile phone reception by the end of fiscal 2010 to promptly create an environment in which all members of the public can access broadband services and
enjoy the conveniences they provide. In addition, ultra-high-speed super broadband that is faster than current systems will be developed and introduced.

(b) Implementing policies to ensure the smooth transition to digital terrestrial television broadcasting
Current support systems are being reinforced and implementation of necessary measures is being moved up on both the transmission and receiving sides to ensure the smooth transition to digital terrestrial television broadcasting, which will be completed by July 2011.

(5) Fostering and Reinforcing Creative Industries
Support will be provided for reinforcing the distribution of regional programming and increasing the domestic and overseas distribution of domestically produced programming that is well received overseas, such as anime and television programs. In addition, efforts will be made to greatly expand markets for digital programming by fostering and reinforcing creative industries, including consumer generated media (CGM), digital signage used as a new advertising medium by businesses and government, and programming created on a daily basis in the educational and
government fields.
(a) Supporting the integration of communications and broadcasting and the distribution of integrated content
The MIC will support the standardization of technical and operational rules and the adoption of open standards for distributed media, as well as the development of environments for the efficient implementation of business, to encourage the distribution of programming that leads to the integration of and collaboration between communications and broadcasting. With respect to IPTV services that distribute high-quality programming to digital televisions via the Internet, measures will include the development of environments that enable programming providers to select IPTV service networks and the development of technical standards for digital televisions
compatible with IPTV services.

In addition, as networks become more diverse, technical infrastructure will be developed to allow efficient sharing of content relating to education (courses and texts), business, government, and so on via both communications and broadcasting services.
(b) Developing content transaction markets In order to encourage the development of broadcast programming transaction markets
for the overseas and Internet distribution of broadcast programming and other content, measures will be taken to create systems for the efficient handling of rights by enabling centralized management of information relating to copyright holders and the scope of
licenses concerning broadcast programming and for access by businesses wishing to distribute content overseas and in other markets.

(c) Reinforcing measures to prevent unauthorized distribution of content
Measures for preventing the unauthorized distribution of content will be reinforced through drastic measures, including the development of systems to monitor the unauthorized distribution of content that harms legitimate content businesses and to provide warnings, so that creative industries can enjoy healthy development.

(d) Promoting the use of digital content in education
Digital content in educational fields, including broadcast programming, will be improved and archived, and distribution to classrooms using digital infrastructure, such as terrestrial digital television broadcasting and IPTV, will be encouraged.

(e) Encouraging wide-area collaboration among cable television networks
Wide-area collaboration among cable television networks will be encouraged, distribution infrastructure to support prefectural and nationwide distribution of regional programming and programming production will be developed, and collection sites to reinforce regional information distribution capabilities will be created.

(6) Enhancing the International Competitiveness of ICT Industries: Accelerating Global Development
The international competitiveness of Japan’s ICT industries is declining. Nonetheless, there are many fields in which industry possesses world-leading technological capabilities and has the potential to address a wide range of problems that countries
around the world are currently facing. Consequently, efforts will be made to create environments in which business can develop with an eye toward global markets and to reinforce international competitiveness in ICT industries. Collaboration with countries in Asia and other regions will be supported in the international development of Japan’s ICT industries.

(a) Reinforcing the Ubiquitous Alliance Project
Digital broadcasting, wireless technologies, and next-generation IP networking have been positioned as priority areas for raising international competitiveness in ICT fields, and the Ubiquitous Alliance Project (a project to construct model systems tailored to the
needs of partner countries and to make those systems visible; the project is scheduled to begin in fiscal 2009) will be conducted to accelerate international deployment of these technologies.

b) Supporting the Digital Silk Road Concept
The MIC will study concrete implementation of the Digital Silk Road Concept. This concept is intended to accelerate joint research and development, human resource development, and exchanges using ICT with universities and research organizations in India, the Middle East, and Africa.

(7) Development and Implementation of Ubiquitous Green ICT
ICT can contribute to improving energy use efficiency, reducing the transport of people and goods, raising production and consumption efficiency, and enhancing environmental measurement and forecasting technologies. For example, estimates indicate that environmental measures using ICT (known as “ubiquitous green ICT”) can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of 38 million tons in 2012, about half of the 6% reduction from 1990 specified in the Kyoto Protocol. Consequently, the MIC will support the use of ubiquitous green ICT to spur low-carbon innovation.

(a) Supporting the development of energy-saving networks
In response to rapid growth in the development of broadband environments and the use of video and other programming, collaboration between industry, universities, and government will be promoted to create energy-saving networks by developing energy-saving network control technologies that can be used for the Internet, eco-Internet technologies for performing traffic routing control, and photonic network technologies that are both high-speed and energy saving.

(b) Developing Green Cloud Data Centers
Network use is increasing rapidly, and in response the development of Green Cloud Data Centers will be promoted to reduce data center energy consumption by locating them in cold regions, utilizing wind and solar power, employing low-loss direct current, and using tunnels and other underground sites with strong earthquake resistance and stable temperatures. Also, this concept will be employed to support the construction of the Kasumigaseki Cloud Data Center (tentative name) as infrastructure for government information systems, such as the Kasumigaseki Cloud.

(c) Adopting environmental measures using open sensor networks
The MIC will support the development of open sensor networks that collect comprehensive environmental data, such as information on sudden downpours, traffic congestion, and landslides, from sensors that use IPv6 technology installed over wide areas. The collected data will be used to plan and implement environmental measures, such as electric power control at public facilities, and to develop green ICT services for the private sector.

(d) Quantifying household CO2
The MIC will test an “environmental household account book” that automatically calculates carbon dioxide emissions generated from purchasing and consumption activities in the day-to-day lives of consumers by using ASP and SaaS to encourage responses to environmental problems by individuals. Such a system will make household carbon dioxide emissions more apparent.

(e) Supporting new work styles using telework
Model businesses will be implemented to support new working styles using information and communications technologies and services that achieve high levels of both security and convenience to increase telework and thereby lower environmental impact by
reducing the transport of people, increasing paperless offices, and raising the efficiency of office space use.

(8) Nurturing Highly Skilled ICT Human Resources
(a) Nurturing highly skilled ICT human resources
Novel ideas and innovation are crucial in ICT fields. As a result, the comparative quality of human resources is directly linked to international competitiveness. This means that fostering highly skilled ICT human resources who can use ICT to create
high added value is essential.

Consequently, the MIC will support the construction of national center functions that coordinate among universities and supporting businesses to foster highly skilled ICT human resources by encouraging practical remote education and training systems that use cloud computing based on collaboration between industry, universities, and government.

In addition, the development of test networks will be supported to acquire operating technologies for IPv6 (the successor to the IPv4 currently in use). Also, improvement of the information literacy of children will be supported, and high-quality personnel who can support programming production and distribution capabilities will be fostered.

(b) Training in ICT fields
The current economic crisis has resulted in a decline in employment, but there is a chronic shortage of qualified personnel in ICT fields. In response to this situation, the MIC will support the training necessary for ICT personnel.

(9) Creating Safe and Secure Networks
Encouraging the widespread use of ICT in various fields requires the creation of safe and secure networks. As a result, the necessary measures are being conducted on a broad scale, including prevention of the improper disclosure of personal information and implementation of measures to counter unlawful and harmful information, pursuant to the Secure Network Development Promotion Program (launched in January 2009). ...

Digital Economy for Australia

The Premier of Tasmania released a "A Vision for an Innovative, Sustainable and Prosperous Tasmania" (25 August 2010). This targets five economic sectors: agriculture, renewable energy, digital economy, lifestyle and tourism. It is good to see the Tasmanian government have acted in accordance with some of the suggestions I made on my last visit in a talk entitled "Green Broadband Jobs". On a previous visit asked by a former premier of Tasmania what to do, I suggested selling salmon on the Internet and I see that this features in the policy. ;-)

In addition to the media release "A Vision for an Innovative, Sustainable and Prosperous Tasmania" there is a 19 page "Tasmania’s Innovation Strategy (4.9Mbyte PDF).

The five economic sectors targeted are:

1. high-value agriculture, aquaculture and food
2. renewable energy
3. the digital economy
4. a vibrant, creative and innovative Tasmania built on its lifestyle advantages, and
5. further growing our tourism advantage.

In the digital arena, the government sees innovation
transforming businesses and communities. With the
roll-out of the NBN, the digital economy will create new opportunities for existing businesses as well as stimulating the growth of new enterprises. The NBN allows Tasmania to overcome the tyranny of distance.

Unfortunately the policy release has been marred by poor use of the Internet. The media release failed to load with the Tasmanian Government web server reporting

"The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.".

The detailed policy document is a large PDF file which is difficult to download and difficult to read. The report is poorly formatted making it difficult to make use of the document.

The Tasmanian Government should instead provide an easy to read set of web pages (if needed the PDF file can be provided as an option). This failure to use the Internet effectively is particularly serious as this was the launch of a policy promoting the effective use of this technology in Tasmania. The Tasmanian government is not alone in failing to make effective use of the Internet, but given it sees this as a key area of the economy, they should take urgent steps to gain competence in this area. One way to do that would be to attend WCC2010 in Brisbane, starting 20 September 2010.

ICT Initiatives for next Australian government

Here are some suggested computer and Internet related initiatives for the next Australian government on: e-polling and broadband in regional Australia. As Anthony Wong, President of the Australian Computer Society points out in his column in The Australian newspaper today the provision of health services in regional Australia can be improved with computer network access ("Web medicine an investment for the bush: broadband access"). These initiatives may be of interest to the independent members of the new Australian Parliament (Bob Katter, Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott , Andrew Wilkie and Greens member Adam Bandt.Whoever makes up the next Austrlaian Government might like to attend, or send advisors to the World Computer Congress 2010, which is being held in Brisbane next month. Some of the best and brightest will be discussing how to provide broadband in regional areas and how to use this for economic development, education, health and the environment (I am speaking in the environment stream).

1. Electronic polling at major centres: Difficulties were experienced with vote counting at the last election. To overcome this I suggest introducing the system of electronic polling at major centres used for the ACT local elections. With this system at the larger polling places, including pre-poll centres, voters have the choice to use computer based voting. The AEC already has an electronic voting system for people with a disability which can be adapted for all voters. I suggest the use of such a system be maximised by removing the restriction on pre-poll voting and so allowing any voter to vote in the pre-poll period without needing to give a reason. This will allow most votes to be cast and counted electronically, greatly speeding up the poll and reducing errors. Allowing pre-polling should also help independents and smaller parties, but making it difficult for a major parties to use large advertising budgets to influence the vote shortly before polling day.
   
2. Broadband Use in Regional Australia: Regardless of it the NBN is retained, or another broadband strategy adopted, I suggest emphasis be changed to the use of broadband for the community. This should include investment in training for teachers and health workers in the use of online applications to carry out their work. This could build on the excellent work being done by federal and state funded EdNa on all levels of education, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework on vocational education and the ANU on training rural doctors. Also a programme could ensure that regional centres are equipped to use broadband, including schools, libraries, health centres and council offices.
3. Broadband for Reducing Carbon Emissions: Regardless of what form of carbon emission control scheme is introduced, ICT can play a part. As I teach my Green ICT students, computers and telecommunications now make up a significant part of the cause of carbon emissions in Australia (about 2.7%) and could be used to reduce emissions (up to 15%). At a cost of $1M we could train on expert for each of the top 400 companies and government agencies in Australia to work to make reductions. Already my students have written green ICT strategies for several major government agencies and companies as assignments for their course and then submitted them for implementation in the workplace.
   

Economic case for the NBN

In "NBN 101: The Economic Argument" Trevor Clarke (Computerworld, 30 June, 2010 15:09) presents a well researched and well presented outline of the economic rationale behind the National Broadband Network. This does not consider the wider social case for broadband access, such as social equity, health or education, but none the less is a very useful overview. I look forward to further articles in the series on how the NBN is planned to work and uses for it.

Green IT Requirements for Australian Government Data Centre Facilities

The Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) has released a "Data Centre Facilities Statement of Requirements – Draft " (25 June 2010), which includes requirements for sustainable (Green) IT. The only firm requirement included is certification to the Environmental Management Systems (EMS) ISO14001 standard, or equivalent. There are no mandatory requirements for energy saving, materials recycling or reporting in the draft. This is despite requirements placed on government agencies to do so. As an example, modern data centres report the energy used by client equipment, so this can be included in mandatory government energy and greenhouse gas reporting. The draft AGIMO document includes no requirement for such reporting, so that Government CIOs would be unable to comply with reporting requirements.

A "Whole-of-Government ICT Sustainability Plan" was to be developed by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) in conjunction with the Department of Finance and Deregulation (Finance) by December 2009. However, the plan has not yet been released. In the interim, suitable standards and applicable laws are detailed in my book "Green Technology Strategies: Using computers and telecommunications to reduce carbon emissions". Several students undertaking my courses in Green IT have written green ICT reports for their agencies as course assignments. The courses are available through the Australian Computer Society, the Australian national University and Open Universities Australia. Currently I have students studying Green ICT, including several preparing reports for major government agencies The next course starts at ANU in a few weeks time and enrolments are now open. The course will be updated when the Whole-of-Government ICT Sustainability Plan is available. Also sustainable IT is one of the topics for the World Computer Congress 2010, to be held in Brisbane in September. Several of the architects of Australian green IT plans and training will be speaking there (I will be talking about green IT training for professionals).

A Request for Tender (RFT) is planned to be issued for a panel of suppliers for the bulk of data centre facilities to the Australian Government agencies. However, as the ICT sustainability plan is now six months late, it is not clear when the RFT may be issued.

There are several interesting aspects to the draft document: apart from the large scale of the services required, the way the draft was released is of interest.

The draft requirements was announced online by Kayelle Wiltshire, Assistant Secretary of the Central Facilities Branch,AGIMO, in what is essentially a first person blog, without the usual third person, hard to understand official bureaucratic language. Comments are invited to the blog.

AGIMO are acknowledging and referencing a previous Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) "Whole-of-Government Data Centre Strategy: Industry Best Practice Principles" (AIIA, 29 May 2010). It is unusual for an agency to acknowledge the input of an industry body so directly.

What also makes the AGIMO data centre initiative different is the use of HTML. Usually government reports are provided in large, hard to download, hard to read PDF documents. In the case AGIMO have provided web page versions of not only its own documents, but the AIIA report as well (the documents are also offered in PDF and RTF formats. One improvement AGIMO could make would be to list the HTML version first, rather than last. May people are likely to click on the first link they see and end up with a PDF file download they did not really want.

Green IT for Australian Government Data Centres

The AIIA report cited by AGIO includes a section on "Green IT':

Government should be clear on its commitment to ‘Green’ technologies and encourage innovation and commitment from industry in this area. Climate factors of a location that enable efficiency should be included in the consideration.

The AIIA report cites:

1. "Data Centre Certification Ramps Up", Bianca Wirth, GreenITStrategy.com, 6 April 2010
2. Data Centre Design Guide, Presentation by Jon Haas and Tony Pierce, The Green Grid, 4 February 2009

The draft statement of requirements includes a section on "Sustainability":

8.28 The Australian Government encourages “Green IT” and other environmental initiatives where possible, such as the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, use of fossil fuel energy, use of water and e-waste.

8.29 The Tenderer should provide details of any Green Power (from renewable sources) used in data centre facilities.

8.30 The Tenderer should be certified to Environmental Management Systems (EMS) ISO14001 or to an equivalent environmental management standard, such as the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). If the Tenderer is not certified, the Tenderer should commit to be certified within 12 months of joining the panel of data centre Providers.

8.31 The Tenderer should provide the current greenhouse gas emission baseline for data centre facilities and plans, if any, for upgrades to infrastructure to reduce the greenhouse gas footprint.

8.32 It is desirable that the data centre operation minimises the use of water and power. The Tenderer should detail how this can be achieved.

Green issues are also mentioned in the section on Un-interruptable Power Supplies (UPS):

8.16 The Tenderer should provide evidence of green initiatives in UPS design that demonstrates the use of non-chemical based UPS systems and the reduction in the use of harmful chemicals in the UPS.

Sustaining small ICT business in Canberra

I presented evidence on "Sustainable ICT Procurement" to the ACT Legislative Assembly Public Accounts Committee, 9:30 am yesterday, as part of an Inquiry into ACT Government Procurement.

The hearing started on time, with three MLAs and about five audience members. The ACT Government is more of a town council, that a regional government. The Committee Room 1 of the Legislative assembly was small, but well equipped. There are very sturdy looking native timber desks, with microphones built in (the hearings are recorded and a transcript prepared).

The hearing was chaired by Ms Caroline Le Couteur MLA (Greens). The ACT has a Labour minority government, with support of the Greens. Like Senate hearings I have attended, there was a colleguete atmosphere, without overt politics. As usual, as an "expert" I was treated very respectfully by the committee.

I made a brief opening summary of my submissions and then answered questions. There was considerable interest in the idea of having green standards for procurement and for working with the commonwealth. There was no interest in green education. There was also considerable interest in impediments to small business in the tender process.

I suggested that the federal government would most likely adopt US Energy Star version 4 for computer purchases. It was unlieklt that the EPEAT standard would be made mandatory, as so few products currently comply.

A series of questions I was not prepared for were about the need for professional indemnity insurance for consultants. I suggested that it would be useful if the level of insurance required could be capped. I explained that government contracts generally required me to have $10M insurance. I suggested this would be better capped at $1M and the Australian Computer Society was working on having this introduced first in NSW. However, on checking later, I found the figure for the ACS Limited Liability (NSW) Scheme is $1.5M and came into force in NSW on 1 January 2010. So it would seem sensible for the ACT to match this $1.5M.

As I was asked about insurance, I raised the issue of Worker's Compensation insurance. My company is required to have this insurance, even though I am the only employee. The paperwork is onerous, requiring a statutory declaration from myself every six months and a statement from my accountant, as to how much I was paid. It is necessary to wait for the accounts to be finalised and get three signatures on one piece of paper. The forms a routinely late as a result and the insurance company is obliged to threaten me each time that they will inform the ACT Government who will then prosecute me. I explained to the committee that the requirements where not as onerous in NSW. I suggested that these be relaxed for micro businesses and explained to the committee that otherwise I may move my business to NSW (many other ICT professionals may do likewise).

ps: I previously wrote to the ACT Government and opposition requesting the worker's compensation law be changed, but they declined to do so:

Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2001 09:26:51 +1000
To: ACT Attorney-General stefaniak(a)act.gov.au
From: Tom Worthington
Subject: Request Change To Workers Compensation Act
Cc: Shadow ACT Attorney-General stanhope(a)act.gov.au

This is to request a change to the Workers' Compensation Act 1951 - SCHEDULE 3 paragraph 10 http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/act/consol_act/wca1951255/sch3.html to remove the requirement for employers to provide a certificate from a registered auditor and a statutory declaration of wages paid. Three people are required to sign a paper form to verify the wages paid by an employer. This is an unnecessary burden, particularly on small bushiness, and precludes the use of electronic commence.

Paragraph 10 currently requires the Employer to supply the insurer with:

(a) a certificate from a registered auditor stating the total amount of wages paid to workers; and
(b) a statutory declaration setting out:
(i) the determined categories of workers employed by the employer; and
(ii) the total amount of wages paid ...

I suggest this be changed by:

1. Omitting sub paragraph (a), and
2. Replacing the words "a statutory declaration" with "an approved form".

This change would allow the Minister to approve a form which simply requires the employer to detail the wages paid. Electronic as well as paper forms could be approved. Electronic signatures would not be needed, as the transaction with the insurer would be sufficient to provide verification at least equal to the current system.

The employer could fill in a paper form or a web form on the insurer's web site. They would later be presented with those details in an invoice for payment. The invoice and payment could be electronic. Paying the invoice would be evidence that the employer received the invoice and considered the figures it was calculated from were correct.

ps: My small business consults to the Federal Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business on e-commerce and its implementation for business: http://www.tomw.net.au/admin/rfo20005.html

Sustainable Canberra Government

I will be giving evidence on "Sustainable ICT Procurement" to the ACT Legislative Assembly Public Accounts Committee, 9:30 am, 4 March 2010. This is in Committee Room 1 of the Legislative assembly, London Circuit, Canberra, as part of an Inquiry into ACT Government Procurement. The public are welcome to attend and I would appreciate some moral support.

Meet ICT Company Founders in Canberra

National ICT Australia (NICTA) is running a "Meet the Founder Series" talk every two months in Canberra. These start with Mr Murray Rankin, Founder of The Distillery and Rankin Securities on 9 March 2010.

Meet the Founder Series
Entrepreneurs sharing their experiences
Mr Murray Rankin
Entrepreneurial Pitfalls – Look Before You Leap
When: 5.30pm for Canapes
9th March

Murray Rankin has extensive domestic and international experience in both the public and private sectors. He is best known as a Founder of The Distillery, a Canberra based global technology success story.

Murray was responsible for growing the Distillery from two founders in 1997 to a global company with 130 employees operating in the ACT, US, UK, NZ, South Africa and Asia.

Where: NICTA Seminar Room, Ground Floor, 7 London Circuit, Civic

RSVP: Annetta.Hend@nicta.com.au by Thursday 4th March

Upcoming Talks

• Mr Ken Kroeger - Founder Healthcube and Catalyst Interactive, 4th May
• Mr Bob Quodling - Founder Simmersion Holdings Pty Ltd, 13th July
• Mr Brand Hoff - Founder Tower Software, 14th September
• Mr Scott Rashleigh - Founder AOFR, 9th November

Green ICT from Queensland Government

The Queensland Government has issued "ICT for tomorrow's Queensland" with a Strategy Document and Action Plan (September 2009). There are six themes: employment, business and skills development, green ICT, internationalisation and regional access.

Some excerpts from the strategy:

Flagship project: smart ICT solutions for climate
change

This flagship project will implement a range of initiatives to increase business and government awareness of ICT as a tool for reducing the State’s
greenhouse gas emissions through reduced energy consumption and motor vehicle usage.

The ICT industry environment Initiatives

• Promote Queensland ICT technologies to priority industry
sectors through case studies and at targeted industry events
• Showcase Queensland ICT solutions to Government agencies via the Queensland Government Chief Information Office and CITEC
• Implement a Cleantech Enterprise Pipeline by raising the business and commercialisation skills in emerging Cleantech ICT firms and making the investment community and major end-user industries more aware of
opportunities through information seminars and events
• Assist the ICT industry to minimise its environmental footprint, and that of other industries, by promoting the environmental and financial benefits of managing energy more efficiently and minimising waste streams
• Leverage ICT industry development opportunities flowing from the Queensland Government’s new $15 million Climate Smart Business Service to begin in July 2010, assisting small-to-medium sized business to access a
range of advice and assistance to lower their greenhouse gas emissions
• Support the promotion of ICT-based green solutions such as intelligent transport systems to reduce congestion and solutions for improved e-government service delivery ...

From: ICT for tomorrow's Queensland: Strategy Document, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, he State of Queensland, September 2009

Sustainable ICT Procurement

The ACT Legislative Assembly Standing Committee on Public Accounts is holding an Inquiry into ACT Government Procurement. The deadline for submissions is 31 August 2009. Here is my submission on sustainable ICT procurement, which has been authorised it for publication by the committee:

Submission to the Inquiry into ACT Government Procurement

This is a submission to the ACT Legislative Assembly Standing Committee on Public Accounts¹ for the Inquiry into ACT Government Procurement².

The submission addresses the following terms of reference³, largely with respect to the use and procurement of computers and telecommunications (ICT):

...
(2) the integration of sustainability considerations that encompass environmental, economic and social aspects throughout procurement processes
(3) agency approaches to procurement training and development activities
(4) the ability of local suppliers to compete for ACT Government procurement opportunities ...

Integration of sustainability considerations in procurement processes

It is suggested that the ACT Government should work with the federal government and other state and local government on common sustainability standards for procurement of government ICT. The federal departments of Environment and Finance are working on green ICT standards at present.

It is suggested that the ACT should propose to work with the Commonwealth and other jurisdictions. It is suggested that this be done by using the federal finance department's GovDex system⁴. This will allow federal, state and local government officials to participate in joint working parties without the need for face-to-face meetings. It is suggested that there be also participation by industry representatives. The aim should be to release green ICT guidelines by the end of 2009.

Agency approaches to procurement training and development activities

It is suggested that ACT government agencies should make use of flexible and e-learning for procurement training, using nationally accredited courses. The Canberra Institute of Technology⁵ (CIT) is a leader in the field of the development and delivery of such courses and could provide for the ACT Government's needs. In addition other organisations run specialised courses, as an example I have designed a course in Green ICT, including ICT procurement, versions of which are delivered via the web by the Australian National University⁶ and the Australian Computer Society⁷.

Ability of local suppliers to compete for ACT Government procurement opportunities

It is suggested that the ACT Government's online tender system⁸ be upgraded to provide similar facilities to the Australian Government AusTender⁹ and NZ Government GETS¹⁰ Systems. In particular the system should allow a small business to register for a particular category of tender and automatically receive an email message advising of tenders in that category. Also once registered, the business should be able to obtain details of a specific tender via the ACT Government's web site without needing to reenter all their contact details.

At present the ACT Government display tenders online and sends a weekly message advising new tenders are available. However, the message does not indicate if there are any tenders the particular business might be interested in. The business has to look through all the new tenders. In contrast the Australian and NZ systems allow a particular category to be registered for, such as computer related tenders. The business then can look at that specific tender.

At present the business has to reenter all its contact details in order to download a tender from the ACT tender web site. In contrast the Australian and NZ systems only requiring registering this information once.

Tom Worthington
24 July 2009

PO Box 13
Belconnen ACT 2617

http://www.tomw.net.au/

1 Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Legislative Assembly for the ACT, 2009: http://www.parliament.act.gov.au/committees/index1.asp?committee=116

2 Inquiry into ACT Government Procurement, Legislative Assembly for the ACT, 7/05/2009: http://www.legassembly.act.gov.au/committees/index1.asp?committee=116&inquiry=812&category=13

3Terms of reference, Inquiry into ACT Government Procurement, Legislative Assembly for the ACT, 2009: http://www.legassembly.act.gov.au/downloads/terms-of-reference/ToR%20Government%20Procurement.pdf

4 Welcome to GovDex, Department of Finance and Deregulation, 2009: https://www.govdex.gov.au/user/index.do

5 Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT), 2009: http://www.cit.act.edu.au/

6 COMP7310: Green ICT Strategies, ANU, 2009: http://cs.anu.edu.au/students/comp7310/

7 Green ICT Strategies, ACS, 2009P: http://www.acs.org.au/cpeprogram/index.cfm?action=show&conID=greenict

8 Open tenders, ACT Procurement Solutions, 2009: http://www.procurement.act.gov.au/tenders_advertised/open_tenders

9 AusTender Homepage, Department of Finance and Deregulation , 2009: https://www.tenders.gov.au/

10 New Zealand Government Electronic Tenders Service, Government Procurement Development Group (GPDG) of the NZ Ministry of Economic Development, 2009: http://www.gets.govt.nz/default.aspx?show=HomePage