Victorian ICT Workforce Development Plan

The Victorian Government has issued a draft "Victorian ICT Workforce Development Plan" and invited comments in an online forum. This aims to improve the supply of people with business technology skills. I have suggested use of Work Integrated Learning (WIL). This allows students to use what they are doing at work in their studies (and what they are studying in their work). This is a lot easier with blended and on-line courses, so the student can fit their studies in with work and other commitments. As an example, students are now signing up for my course "ICT Sustainability" at the Australian National University. This is run on-line and the students can do their assignments about their workplace.

As an example, I have a student where the employer wants them to finish their degree in four weeks, instead of six months, so they can take up a new role. I have worked out how to compress a semester long postgraduate course into four weeks, for an undergraduate. They will do the course while sitting in their workplace, doing assignments which are also part of their job.

Audit of Learning Technologies in Government Schools

The Victorian Government conducted an audit of Learning Technologies in Government Schools. It was found that the Victorian government's policy for ICT in schools, titled the Digital Learning Statement, lacks a clear action plan and framework for investment in learning technology. As a result there is "... little guidance on how future learning technology initiatives can be appropriately planned and integrated". More positively the planning for a fibre-optic network for schools was found to have a "robust needs and options analysis". However, the software project, called "Ultranet", was "...poorly planned and implemented". The system is 80 per cent over budget, late, has a low uptake rate and limited functionality. It would seem to me that the Victorian Government should retain the network and computer hardware, but replace the software with open source, including Moodle and Mahara.

The audit report is the equivalent of 53 pages of very clear analysis of a complex social and technical issue. The report would be of value for those interested in the issues of technology for education at all levels, not just schools. The Auditor-General has published the report as a well formatted and efficient HTML web page as well as the more usual (and harder to read) PDF.

Conclusion

DEECD’s Digital Learning Statement (the Statement) does not provide a clear action plan or framework for investment in learning technologies. There is no supporting strategy or further detail to the Statement. This means that departmental staff and school leaders have little guidance on how future learning technology initiatives can be appropriately planned and integrated to build upon past and present ICT investments.
Planning for the VicSmart high-speed fibre-optic network for all government schools was underpinned by a robust needs and options analysis. Although the project was a less complex infrastructure rollout, it was well executed and is delivering its desired benefits. The high-speed connectivity that VicSmart provides is a key enabler of current and future digital learning in government schools.
In contrast, the Ultranet, the Statement’s key foundation plank and key enabler, was poorly planned and implemented. Six years after its announcement as a government priority, it is yet to achieve expected benefits for students, parents and schools. It is significantly late, more than 80 per cent over its first announced budget, has very low uptake by users, and does not have the functionality originally intended.
This audit identified a number of serious probity, procurement and financial management issues surrounding the Ultranet project. DEECD’s tender process lacked rigour and was seriously flawed. There is little confidence in the costing and financial management practices around the Ultranet project, and limited assurance that the selected outcome represented value for money.

Findings

Digital Learning Statement

The Digital Learning Statement—the government’s current policy document on the use of learning technologies—was not informed by robust and comprehensive research and does not make a clear and cogent case for government investment in learning technologies.
The Statement does not deliver on the directive in the 2008 Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development to provide a plan of action to use learning technologies in teaching and learning. A review of DEECD’s advice to the Minister for Education shows that the government was not advised that the Statement did not comply with the Blueprint’s directive to develop and deliver a strategy.
To date, there has been no accompanying detailed strategy developed to support the Statement, even though this was originally planned.

VicSmart high-speed broadband for schools

Planning for VicSmart was underpinned by a robust needs and options analysis, as demonstrated by its 2005 business case, which articulated the needs to be addressed and provided a clear rationale for the purchase of high-speed fibre-optic broadband connectivity. The business case provided confidence that the project was achievable and could be delivered as planned.
The VicSmart procurement process was streamlined by using a mandated whole-of-government single-source provider. The fibre-optic system is performing as expected and has been upgraded incrementally to meet emerging data and connectivity needs across the government school system.

Ultranet e-learning system

The Ultranet project was poorly planned and implemented. None of its three business cases had a well thought out needs analysis or gave considered options to deliver the project. The various business cases did not answer the ‘Why invest?’ question for the Ultranet, nor did they provide a sound basis for the project’s approval.
Some six years since its announcement as a government priority, the Ultranet has not delivered its main objectives:

• to improve responsiveness to individual learning needs
• to provide better information to parents, the school system and government
• to improve the efficiency of the learning environment and school administration.

Consistent with public sector practice, the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) and the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) provided advice to government at key decision points over the life of the Ultranet project.
The project continued despite advice from central agencies that it should cease or be delayed. Further, there is no trail of documentary evidence to explain whether or how DEECD addressed the many critical issues raised by DPC and DTF.
It is difficult to understand why the Ultranet procurement was able to proceed to contract execution, given the significant concerns raised by DPC and DTF, as well as the many adverse ratings that DEECD had received from various Gateway reviews since the project first commenced.
Further, this audit detected a number of serious process and probity issues in relation to tendering and procurement for the Ultranet. DEECD has advised that it has commenced a number of actions and further detailed investigations in response to these matters.
There is little confidence that the financial management practices relating to the Ultranet were sound and that full costs have been adequately recorded. VAGO estimates that actual capital and operating expenditure for the Ultranet was approximately $162 million as at June 2012, and by June 2013 it is likely to have cost approximately $180 million. DEECD has advised that it is currently investigating the financial practices in relation to this major ICT project.
Despite this significant expenditure, no cost-benefit analysis has been conducted to determine whether the Ultranet provides value for money, or whether the same functionality could have been delivered more cost effectively.
Performance indicators for the Ultranet have been revised down over time and do not provide appropriate measures of whether the Ultranet is achieving what the government expected when it funded the project.
Use of the Ultranet is low, and declining. On average, only 10 per cent of students and 27 per cent of teachers logged in on a monthly basis from July 2011 to May 2012.
An underlying factor which has limited the effective implementation of the Ultranet is the significant discrepancy between the original scope of the project and expected benefits and what has actually been implemented and delivered. This underscores the urgent need for DEECD to review whether it should continue to invest in this project.
Further, DEECD did not adequately manage the change processes required to maximise the Ultranet’s acceptance and, therefore, the state’s return on investment. Teachers and parents were not appropriately trained and supported to use the Ultranet. Ultimately, the Ultranet is only a technology tool, and cannot by itself deliver the benefits intended from it.

Recommendations

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development should:

1. develop a comprehensive and evidence‑based strategy or plan of action for use of learning technologies to underpin and guide the significant investment in ICT for government schools
2. develop performance indicators that measure both VicSmart’s ongoing operational performance and its achievement of intended benefits
3. urgently review its investment in the Ultranet, with a particular focus on:
   • assessing whether the contractor has delivered all functionality as required by the contract and what action, if any, needs to be taken to enforce the state’s rights
   • rigorously assessing its financial management practices and identifying the real, current cost of the Ultranet to determine the extent to which further investment is warranted
   • identifying and addressing the underlying causes of low take‑up rates across the school system by teachers, students and parents
   • providing advice to government on the cost-benefit of decommissioning the system now against continuing to fund and rectify the system so that it can be implemented as originally expected
4. conduct an agency-wide review of its internal tendering, probity and financial management practices in light of the serious issues identified by this audit
5. expedite the provision of guidance to schools on the current status of the Ultranet as the department’s key learning technology investment, and clarify the policy context of schools’ autonomy in purchasing non-Ultranet learning technologies. ...

From: Learning Technologies in Government Schools, Victorian Auditor-General, 12 December 2012

Victorian Government ICT Strategy

A draft "Victorian Government ICT Strategy" (1 October 2012) is available for comment by 17 October 2012. The 25 page document is available in PDF  and Microsoft Word, but not as a native web page. The strategy mentions a couple of successful ICT projects, but contains no references to past Victorian government strategies, nor problems with previous ICT projects. It seems that the Victorian government is unwilling to learn from the past and so is likely to repeat mistakes, such as the MyKi Ticketing Project.

Gov 2.0 at the Department of Education in Canberra

Pia Waugh introduced the Canberra Gov 2.0 lunchtime event, hosted by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations in Canberra. Damien Battisson, Director of Social Media at DEEWR, spoke first. He used the founding of Canberra as a metaphor, with many false starts and that exploring a little more would produce further results. He also put in a plug for the DEEWR hi-tech theater which is available for hire, as are the services of the DEEWR social media team.

This was followed by the next speaker, Keren Flavell from Wholesome Media, using the building of the Sydney Harbor Bridge as a metaphor for the NBN (attributed to Dr. Karl. She then introduced the topic of participatory democracy and the Victorian Parliament. Unfortunately the definition of "Participatory Democracy" used, was not one I recognized. What Keren described was education and consultation for representative democracy. In contrast participatory democracy has more direct involvement of the citizens in the process of government.
An interesting quad chart was presented with axes of empowering to educational and non-social to social. But it was not clear to me that empowering and educational were points on the same continuum.

Curiously after the discussion of high ideals, the details were about two Twitter accounts (@Parliament and @Participates). These Twitter accounts are used to report bills before the house and committees. However, these are basic housekeeping functions (pun intended), not really about participatory democracy. I suggest a more proactive approach would be to make Hansard live, that is rather than have to wait until the next day, the Hansard would be sent out delayed by only a few seconds. This live feed could have links and advice on bills embedded.

"Parliament of Victoria Explains: How Parliament makes laws" was created as an on-line video in the style of "Electing a US President in Plain English" to educate the citizens.

The claim was then made that no Parliament had worked out how to use Face-book. This seemed to me a strange claim to make. Face-book is intended for groups of "friends" to socialize. There is no reason why this would be useful for a parliament. The reason given for this not working was that Face-book was not being used to drive an agenda (but such driving an agenda would be the opposite of participatory democracy). The solution proffered was the "Town Hall" application. This seemed to be a US based solution where "town hall meetings" are common, but may not suit Australian democracy.

Many of the initiatives presented appeared useful, but missed the point of what participatory democracy is. This is not about the Parliament "educating" the citizens, setting an agenda and then inviting citizens to input to the issues selected by the parliament. Also this approach does not appear to allow for the political parties and factions, which are an important part of Australian democracy.

If the Victorian Parliament uses the Internet to bolster representative democracy that is worthwhile, but the Parliament should not claim this is participatory democracy.

Michael (Mick) Chisnall, Director of the Australian Capital Territory’s Government Information Office, then talked on "Government in a Connected Society". This was an interesting thoughtful talk on the nature of society, the Internet and government. Mick pointed out that the use of "networks" in support of society in not new, with the Roman empire using roads and sea lanes to form a society and the Internet was just the 21st century version of this. He showed a graph with social connections on one access and communications connections on the other, with web 1, 2 and 3 progressing from bottom left to top right.

Mick cited the book "Cyber Chiefs" by Mathieu O'Neil (when he was at ANU). He commented that on-line reputation is by contribution, not formal position. However, it seems to me that the Internet ethos was continuously derived from academic discourse, at the same time the technology was being built to support academic work. Also reputation in academia and on the Internet is built up into semi-formal positions. This reputational influence happens explicitly on some social networks: you must be authorized by your peers to have access to some functions. This is not that different to someone being appointed to an academic position or job, based on their reputation.

Mick then discussed citizen centric services (which seems to me to be the complement of democracy). The piece of the puzzle I see missing is the role of the private sector.

Mick argued for network empowerment, rather than hierarchy. This seems to me to be too radical for government to accept and not necessary. It should be possible to have a network for delivering services and a hierarchy for making decisions. It should be possible to build systems which cooperate to deliver services, hiding the complexity of government structure from the user, but still service the reporting and decision making process of that complex system.

Mick pointed out the success of virtual community cabinets. Also he highlighted the changes to the ACT public service. But is some ways the ACT Government is relatively easy to simplify, as it is just a city council. One aspect I think the ACT Government needs to look at is its relationship with citizens living in cluster housing. Flats and apartment buildings have a "body corporate" which is a form of privatized fourth level of local government. The important issues for local government are garbage collection, roads, street lights, water, power and the like. In the case of the apartment building I live in all these services are provided by the body corporate, not by the ACT Government.

Recording of the presentations will be available later.

CoMConnect: Exploring Melbourne's Digital Future

The city of Melbourne is hosting "CoMConnect: Exploring Melbourne's Digital Future", 11 August 2012. This is a free "un-conference" on how how digital technology can improve Melbourne.

This may be of interest to teachers, as education is a big part of the Digital City. Also other cities have Digital City programs, including the Wellington Digital Strategy and Action Plan, Digital Manchester and Canberra My Digital City innovation prize.

I booked to attend the event, when I was in Melbourne for ICCSE2012, but the event was delayed due to the Melbourne state by-election. So I will not now be able to attend, but here are some suggestions I have for a digital Melbourne:

1. Fix MiKi Ticketing system: On my recent visit to Melbourne I tried Miki smart ticketing system. This was much more difficult and unreliable than systems in places such as Istanbul and Canberra. I suggest Melbourne and the Victorian government obtain federal government support and funding for making all the state smart ticket systems inter-operable, so that someone with a MiKi could use it in other states (and at the same time they could fix the problems with the MiKi).
   
2. Lego Education Melbourne for Robotics and Renewable Energy : Melbourne has a wonderful resource in the Lego Education Centers. These run courses in robotics and renewable energy using Lego education kits, for school students and teachers. I suggest that similar courses would benefit business and government.
3. Un-conference venues: Modern "un"-conferences require venues with different facilities to last century events. What is needed is a flexible layout which can be reconfigured by the participants, with walls you can write on, display screens and wireless networking. The preeminent example of this in Australia is the University of Canberra's Inspire Center., which as used for the 2012 GovCamp/GovHack. I suggest Melbourne catalog existing such venues and encourage the development of new ones.
4. Teach On-line Communication: A digital city is partly on-line. This requires the citizens, business and cultural community to have good on-line communication skills. As an example, an on-line event, such as CoMConnect requires its own on-line presence (2012 GovCamp/GovHack provides a good example). Melbourne has numerous public and private educational institutions which can teach how to do this. I suggest Melbourne City Council host free introductory courses at its public libraries, for the citizens.
   

Here is the official CoMConnect event announcement:

The City of Melbourne is exploring how digital technology can help keep Melbourne one of the greatest places to be - at work, at play and at home in the 21st Century.

CoM Connect will bring together community leaders, thinkers, designers, technologists, researchers, urbanists and makers over the weekend of the 11th and 12th August to explore Melbourne's digital future.

This is your invitation to join us!

We expect demand for this exciting event to be very high so act quickly to secure your spot.

Important things to know...

• Our hashtag for the event: #comconnect
• We ask that you do your best to commit to participating over both days. We understand this is a big ask and for our part we promise to make sure you are well fed, mentally stimulated and entertained by a diverse mix of fascinating people and conversations.
  
• Due to the anticipated high demand we've had to limit the number of tickets to 1 per person. If you had previously registered to 'save the date' on behalf of friends or colleagues please forward them the invitation so they may register themselves.
  
• In order to make sure we have a healthy mix of backgrounds and perspectives participating over the weekend a small number of invitations have already been issued. The remaining places will be allocated on a first come/first served basis.
• In the event that all tickets are snapped up a waitlist will be used for the overflow. This means if you find yourself unable to make it please let the organisers know so someone else can take your place.

More about the event...

The Aims of CoM Connect...

• Build Community – Start to build a network of people and companies interested in working alongside the City of Melbourne to explore ways we can deliver better experiences and services to those who live, work and play within the municipality.
• Build Knowledge - Create an environment where leading Urban and Digital thinkers, researchers and practitioners can share share their knowledge about emerging trends and what they might mean for the City and its residents and visitors.
• Inspire – Showcase examples of cutting edge ideas, projects and research already taking place across Melbourne.
  

The Format...

• CoM Connect will be run as an unconference or open space event where the topics of discussion and the agenda are set by the participants.
• Each day will start with a blank timetable that we'll populate with the talks and discussions the participants (yes, that means you!) want to lead and initiate.
  
• Our venue at The Hub provides us with a multitude of adaptable spaces that can just as easily accommodate a plenary session for 200 as a conversation between a few people.
• Once the timetable is populated it's up to you to decide which sessions you would like to attend and which talks and discussions you'd like to participate in.
• For each session or discussion we ask that notes are kept and shared so all our creative and intellectual output is captured.

The Outcomes...

• In the days following the event the City of Melbourne (along with everyone who participated) will be presented with a summary that outlines the main themes, opportunities and areas for further investigation. This will help guide the City of Melbourne's future research and engagement activities as we work towards developing a Digital City Strategy.

Cool Night on a Slow Moving Train

Greetings from the overnight train from Melbourne to Sydney. This is a NSW CountryLink XPT , which left Melbourne's Southern Cross Railway Station on time at 7:55pm and is due at Sydney Central Station at 8:20pm. We are one hour late due to track-works, but that is hardly noticeable in the first class sleeper compartment, with breakfast served on time.

The compartment has three seats during the day and converts to two single bunk beds. There is a shower/toilet shared by each two compartments. Showering on a moving train is a challenging experience, but it is refreshing.

The compartment has a power-point, handy for laptops and mobile charging (although mobile data and cell coverage becomes intermittent outside the city, due in part to the metallic anti-reflective coting on the windows blocking radio signals).

Outside the city there is not much variation in the countryside: trees, fields and the odd cow and horse. This does not quite compare with the Rock Mountains, the Swiss Alps, or Thessaloniki to Istanbul. But particularly for rail enthusiasts, this is one to tick off on the list. You should book soon, as the NSW Government has announced a restructure of railways and the service is likely to be canceled (see: "RailCorp split divides opinion", Ben Neutze, The Current, 16 May 2012).

ps:Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train was a 1988 film by Bob Ellis with Wendy Hughes and Colin Friels, set on a NSW overnight train. This trip did not have quite that excitement.

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

Obtaining a Melbourne Tram Ticket

Next month I am speaking at an international conference in Melbourne. Most of the other delegates are from China and will be staying at the conference venue. I am staying in the city and so need to get to the venue. The Melbourne tram network is extensive and they has introduced a smart transit card ("Myki"). But working out how to actually buy a ticket has proven much more difficult than getting the equivalent electronic ticket in Istanbul.

There are plans for a Tourist Pack, for visitors, preloaded with $8. But currently if you click "visitor" on the "Which MyKi is for you?" page, you are advised to buy the regular MiKi card. Curiously, while full fee paying passengers are told that the card will cost $6, visitors are not told of this cost.

I attempted to purchase a MiKi card, with MiKi money already loaded on the card. Also I chose a registered card, which allows topping up the money online and a refund if the card is lost. This required filling in not only details of where I wanted the card sent, but my email and phone details, a user id, and password. The first few times I tried this the system rejected the transaction after I had completed several screens full of information. The text on one screen was overlapping and unreadable and in other cases the text I was trying to enter would not fit in the boxes, due to poor web page design.

After several attempts I was able to order a registered card. I then tried to order a non-registered card for someone travelling with me. In this case I could not work out how to order a card with money on it. I could order a card with no money on it, but that would be of no use, as there would be no way to use it for travel. Perhaps this as done for security reasons, as the anonymous card acts as essentially like cash. But it seems silly not to allow at least a small amount of money on the card, as without it the card is useless.

Several Australian cities have, or are introducing, smart transit cards. All these cards use the same technical standards and are capable of being interoperable. The Australian Government could boost tourism and lower carbon emissions by encouraging the state governments to allow their transit systems to accept each other's smart cards (just as toll roads accept interstate electronic tags). This would allow interstate visitors to use their current card and international visitors to pre-purchase a card.

Simplifying the Myki ticket system

Media reports indicate that the new Victorian government is considering scrapping or modifying the Myki transport ticket system. The contact-less smart card system has had problems with capacity.

MyKi was modified so that most tram commuter do not need to "touch off" the card at the end of their journey. It is likely this change would be extended to short journeys in other transport modes. This will make the system more like Istanbul's Akbil electronic ticketing system, which simply charges a fixed amount for a journey.

Canberra's ACT government run ACTION bus system is introducing a "MyWay" smart card touch on - touch off system. This was due to commence in the second half of 2010. The card readers have been installed on buses, but tickets have not yet been issued. This is resulting in a loss of revenue, as some buses have had the old ticket system replaced with MyWay, resulting in passengers with old tickets getting a free ride.

Flood affected archives and libraries

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) has complied a List of libraries in flood affected areas for the recent Queensland and Victorian floods. The Australian Society of Archivists (ASA) is compiling a similar Register of Disaster Affected Archives. The Register will be used by Blue Shield Australia with helping save cultural heritage. Organisations are asked to send details of affected archives.

Government 2.0 Action Plan Victoria

The Victorian Government released a "Government 2.0 Action Plan - Victoria" (July 2010). Craig Thomler organised an excellent talk on this in Canberra, yesterday (his blog is a goldmine of useful information on topics such as use of Yammer by government).

The Victorian government plan provides a useful, and brief, 21 page overview of what Government 2.0 is, benefits and risks, how it fits with government strategies and how to go about implementing it. The Australian Government lacks a similar concise overview document. So in the absence of anything more suitable, I will be using the Victorian document for teaching the course COMP7420 at ANU, starting 14 February 2011.

Government 2.0 Action Plan - Victoria

Contents

• Introduction
• Four action areas

1. Driving adoption in the VPS
2. Engaging communities and citizens
3. Opening up government
4. Building capability

• Implementing the Action Plan
• Appendix 1: Government 2.0 applications in the Victorian Public Service
• Appendix 2: Web 2.0 Glossary
• References
• Further Information

Introduction

Government 2.0 involves direct citizen engagement in conversations about government services and public policy through open access to public sector information and new Internet based technologies. It also encapsulates a way of working that is underpinned by collaboration, openness and engagement.

The application of the underlying principles and approaches of Web 2.0 are redefining how people communicate and are transforming the web into a platform of participation and co-production. This transformation extends to the public sector where Web 2.0 tools can deepen democratic processes through participation; support policy development through open consultation; and tailor the delivery of services to meet citizens' needs for personalisation and choice.

This Government 2.0 Action Plan provides the foundation for a whole of Victorian Public Service approach to Government 2.0. It recognises that new approaches, processes and technologies such as social media, wikis, and blogs can put the citizen at the centre in a more open and collaborative relationship with government. It also means a shift in how we work, with an increased emphasis on transparency and collaboration. There are already pockets of innovative Government 2.0 practice in the VPS, ranging from the use of Twitter to keep the public informed during emergencies through to using Facebook to bring together small business owners and prospective owners for networking and information sharing. The Victorian Government has also committed to open access to public sector information in its response to the 2009 Parliamentary Inquiry into Improving Access to Victorian Public Sector Information and Data. Opening up public sector data and information is a major opportunity to increase engagement with the community and realise a range of social and economic benefits.

The Government 2.0 Action Plan focuses on the following priority areas:

1. Driving adoption in the VPS > Leadership
2. Engaging communities and citizens > Participation
3. Opening up government > Transparency
4. Building capability > Performance

There are 14 initiatives under these four action areas, aimed at engaging and empowering citizens, making government more transparent and improving government capability. Our approach to implementation is think big, start small and scale fast.

In the spirit of collaboration and co-production, the Action Plan was developed through extensive consultation and an open wiki process. It sits alongside the VPS Innovation Action Plan and both Plans represent our commitment to developing a leading edge Victorian Public Service that delivers better outcomes for the Victorian community.

The Government 2.0 Action Plan will continue to develop as we harness the ideas and energy already evident in the Victorian Public Service. ...

From: Government 2.0 Action Plan - Victoria, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Victorian Government, July 2010.

2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission Final Report

The 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission Final Report was released today. It happens that I was at the APCOA conference on emergency communications, speaking on the use of the Internet in bushfires, during the fires (I was contacted by the royal commission staff ). The commission has done a reasonable job of considering the use of the Internet and many of the interim recommendations have been implemented already.

The commission has released the report in three formats: Interactive version (HTML with hyperlinks to evidence), Print friendly version (PDF with lower resolution images), High resolution version (PDF version used for the print edition). The report is divided into four sections, with a HTML and two PDF versions for each. Unfortunately the commission has not provided a simple way to navigate the report, with no consolidated table of contents linked to the sections of the report. The most useful version is HTML, so I have created a consolidated table of contents for that version:

2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission Final Report

Consolidated table of contents

• Summary: 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission Final Report
  • PREFACE
  • SUMMARY OF THE REPORT
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
  • THE COMMISSION’S TERMS OF REFERENCE
  • THE PEOPLE WHO DIED
• Volume I—The Fires and the Fire-Related Deaths
  • Introduction
  • The January-February 2009 Fires - Overview
  • Chapter 1: Conditions on 7 February
  • Chapter 2: Arrangements on 7 February
  • Chapter 3: The Delburn Fires
  • Chapter 4: The Bunyip Fire
  • Chapter 5: The Kilmore East Fire
  • Chapter 6: The Horsham Fire
  • Chapter 7: The Coleraine Fire
  • Chapter 8: The Pomborneit-Weerite Fire
  • Chapter 9: The Churchill Fire
  • Chapter 10: The Murrindindi Fire
  • Chapter 11: The Redesdale Fire
  • Chapter 12: The Narre Warren and Upper Ferntree Gully Fires
  • Chapter 13: The Bendigo Fire
  • Chapter 14: The Beechworth-Mudgegonga Fire
  • Chapter 15: Conclusions
  • The People Who Died - Overview
  • Chapter 16: The Kilmore East Fire
  • Chapter 17: The Churchill Fire
  • Chapter 18: The Murrindindi Fire
  • Chapter 19: The Bendigo Fire
  • Chapter 20: The Beechworth-Mudgegonga Fire
  • Chapter 21: The Lessons Learnt
  • Appendix A: Estimated Costs of the Fires
  • Appendix B: Fire in Southern Australia: A Summary
  • Appendix C: Fire in Victoria: A Summary
  • Appendix D: Elements of a Bushfire
  • Appendix E: Map of Most Heavily Impacted Areas
  • Shortened Forms
• Volume II—Fire Preparation, Response and Recovery
  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1: Victoria's Bushfire Safety Policy
  • Chapter 2: Emergency and Incident Management
  • Chapter 3: Fireground Response
  • Chapter 4: Electricity-Caused Fire
  • Chapter 5: Deliberately Lit Bushfires
  • Chapter6 : Planning and Building
  • Chapter 7: Land and Fuel Management
  • Chapter 8: Relief and Recovery
  • Chapter 9: Shared Responsibility
  • Chapter 10: Organisational Structure
  • Chapter 11: Research and Evaluation
  • Chapter 12: Monitoring and Implementation
  • Appendix A: Government Policy Changes Since February 2009
  • Appendix B: Planning and Building Regulatory Frameworks
  • Appendix C: The Municipal Framework
  • Shortened Forms
  • Glossary
• Volume III—Establishment and Operation of the Commission
  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1: The Conduct of the Inquiry
  • Chapter 2: General Operations
  • Chapter 3: Information and Security
  • Chapter 4: Risk and Financial Management
  • Chapter 5: Reflections
  • Appendix A: The Commission's Terms of Reference
  • Appendix B: Community Consultations
  • Appendix C: The Hearings: A Summary
  • Appendix D: Parties Granted Leave to Appear
  • Appendix E: Witnesses
  • Appendix F: Floor Plans, Level 11 and 12, 222 Exhibition Street
  • Appendix G: Commission Personnel
  • Appendix H: Major Contracts
  • Appendix I: IT and Security Infrastructure
  • Shortened Forms
• Volume IV—The Statements of Lay Witnesses
  • About this volume
  • Conditions on the day
  • Beechworth–Mudgegonga fire
    • Mudgegonga
      • EASTERBROOK Pat
      • WARD Karen
    • Rosewhite
      • MCDONALD Robin
  • Bendigo fire
    • Bendigo
      • MACGOWAN Anna
    • Long Gully
      • CASEY Chris
      • KANE Jill
    • Maiden Gully
      • STOCKDALE Maree
  • Bunyip fire
    • Bayles
      • ELLEDGE Karleen
    • Drouin
      • JEWELL Penny
    • Drouin West
      • AHERN Matt
    • Jindivick
      • LINKLATER Sam
    • Labertouche
      • BUNTINE Michelle
      • ENDEN Jaan
  • Churchill fire
    • Callignee
      • GISSARA Frank
      • KLEINIG Andrew
      • OLORENSHAW Peter
      • PAULET Renee
      • ROBERTS Kevin
      • TOIKKA Anja
      • VERLAAN Rainier
      • WIGGINTON Gavin
    • Jeeralang North
      • WEIR Greg
  • Coleraine fire
  • Delburn fire
  • Horsham fire
    • Haven
      • EXELL Sue
  • Kilmore East fire
    • Clonbinane
      • GOBBETT Bevan
    • Flowerdale
      • O'HALLORAN David
    • Glenburn
      • WAINSCOTT Paul
    • Humevale
      • GUNNINGHAM Sue
      • PETREIS Chris
      • ROBBINS Marisa
    • Kinglake
      • BERRY Andrew
      • COWDERY Jim
      • CRAWFORD Kay
      • DAVEY Joan
      • HAGGAR Wayne
      • HALLS Michael
      • HARVEY Christopher
      • LEADBEATER Anne
      • MCCULLOCH Sharon
      • ODGERS Jesse
      • RUHR Vicki
      • ZEALLEY Pauline
    • Kinglake West
      • BARROW Karen
      • BENNETT John
      • COOK Roger
      • HAINSWORTH Jacqueline
      • MOORE Juliet Video Icon
      • SZEPE Philip
      • WUNDERLICH Bart
    • Pheasant Creek
      • BARBER Alice
    • Reedy Creek
      • GLASSFORD Christine
    • St Andrews
      • ANANIEV Illiya
      • BARUTA Jim Video Icon
      • BROWN Peter
      • COLLINS Toni-anne
      • DIXON Amber
      • EDMONDS John
      • HUGHES Gary
      • KENNEY Helen
      • MATTHEWS Carol
      • MORTIMER Geoffrey
      • ROGERS Ken
      • SORRAGHAN Ron
      • THOMAS John
      • WILTSHIRE Peter
    • Steels Creek
      • MATTHEWS Eva
      • O'NEILL John
      • WALLACE Fiona
      • WHITFORD Peta
    • Strathewen
      • BROWN David
      • NOWAK Paul
      • SPOONER Denis
    • Toolangi
      • GRIMMANT Brenda
    • Upper Plenty
      • PATTEN Brian
    • Whittlesea
      • CLEMENTS Judith
      • HARLAND Katherine
    • Yarra Glen
      • WILLIAMS John J
  • Murrindindi fire
    • Buxton
      • FERGUSON John
      • NEWMAN Peter
    • Marysville
      • BROWN Graeme
      • CHERRY Ed
      • DWIGHT Kenneth
      • FRASER Lachlan
      • FRAZER-JANS Judy Video Icon
      • GLENN Russell
      • HULL Daryl Video Icon
      • KENEALY Mary
      • MORROW Bruce
      • POSTLETHWAITE Elaine
      • SCOTT Anna
      • WASLEY Mike
    • Narbethong
      • COLLERY Graeme
      • KENNEDY Jim
    • Taggerty
      • WALTER Doug
  • Narre Warren fires
  • Pomborneit–Weerite fire
    • Weerite
      • HAY Peter
  • Redesdale fire
    • Barfold
      • ELDER Jan
    • Redesdale
      • SIDDLE Samantha
  • Upper Ferntree Gully fire
  • Other witnesses
    • Diamond Creek
      • MAINO Ray
    • Olinda
      • FRANCIS Jeremy
      • GASKING Janice
    • Other
      • ABOTOMEY Rhonda
  • List of witnesses
  • The Commissioners

Australian Mobile Applications in Shanghai

Mobile Monday Shanghai is hosting "The Future of Mobile Applications", at Kathleen's 5 in the Shanghai Art Museum, 26 July 2010. This is organised by the Australia Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) and sponsored by the Victorian Government. Attending companies include: Academy of Information Technology, Blackglass, Bulpadok, Crewjo, Direct Digital Group, Gruden, Internetrix, Netagi, Peoplelogic, Unseen TV, Valleyarm Digital and ZAC Toons. The organisers claim the National Broadband Network (NBN) will be an enabler for the mobile industry. It will be interesting to hear how this fixed fibre network has synergies with wireless. I presented at the MobileMonday Global Summit 2008 in Kuala Lumpur, which was an excellent event.

Apple iPads for Australian School Students

Premier John Brumby has announced 500 Apple iPads will be issued in a trial to students at eight Victorian government schools.

At $AU629 each for the iPads, by the time support costs are added, I estimate the trail will cost $1M. It is not clear what such a trial would accomplish, or if there will also be an investment in educational content and training for teachers to be able to use the iPads.

A few minutes trying an iPad was enough to tell me it was inferior to cheaper netbook for education. In contrast to Victoria, the NSW government is issuing 10,000 netbooks per week to schools, as well as employing support staff.

The NSW Government has a superior strategy, more likely to deliver educational benefits than diverting resources to a trial of a few hundred tablet computers.

Students at eight Victorian Government schools including those battling illness at the Royal Children’s Hospital won’t have to wait long to get their hands on Apple’s latest gadget – the iPad – thanks to a groundbreaking trial. Visiting the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School in Southbank today,

Mr Brumby said the Victorian Government would distribute more than 500 iPads, each worth $629, to eight schools so students can continue to learn with the latest technology.

“Education is the top priority of this Government and our Australian-first trial of iPads in schools will ensure our students remain one step ahead when it comes to emerging technology,” Mr Brumby said.

“Students and teachers want access to the latest technology, and the iPad will provide them with the best in innovative learning technology.

“This trial will allow us to understand the impact of iPads on student learning and communication, and on the way teachers plan and deliver curriculum in the classroom.”

Mr Brumby said students were already using mobile devices at school and home to access the internet and interact with their peers, and the iPad would capture their interest and deliver learning benefits.

“The iPad will take its place in classrooms alongside netbooks, interactive whiteboards and the revolutionary online learning portal – Ultranet,” he said.

The schools participating in the trial include the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and Manor Lakes P-12 Specialist College in Wyndham Vale.

Students battling illness at the Royal Children’s Hospital will also be included in the iPad trial through the hospital’s Education Institute. The Department is finalising the remaining schools that will participate in the trial.

Mr Brumby said the iPad trial was one of many innovative technology programs being rolled out at Victorian Government schools.

“This year alone, our Government is investing more than $150 million in information communication technology in schools, so students stay up-to-date with the digital age,” he said.

“The first phase of the Ultranet is connecting 580,000 Victorian students and teachers to cutting edge digital resources and reflects the modern classroom by breaking down the traditional walls.

“This Government agrees with parents that nothing is more important than their children’s education, that’s why we’re delivering the latest in learning technology – to give Victorian students a real head-start in life.”

IPADS FOR VICTORIAN SCHOOLS IN AUSTRALIAN-FIRST TRIAL

From the Premier

Friday, 28 May 2010

Students at eight Victorian Government schools including those battling illness at the Royal Children’s Hospital won’t have to wait long to get their hands on Apple’s latest gadget – the iPad – thanks to a groundbreaking trial. Visiting the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School in Southbank today, Premier John Brumby announced an Australian-first trial of iPads in Victorian schools.

Mr Brumby said the Victorian Government would distribute more than 500 iPads, each worth $629, to eight schools so students can continue to learn with the latest technology.

“Education is the top priority of this Government and our Australian-first trial of iPads in schools will ensure our students remain one step ahead when it comes to emerging technology,” Mr Brumby said.

“Students and teachers want access to the latest technology, and the iPad will provide them with the best in innovative learning technology.

“This trial will allow us to understand the impact of iPads on student learning and communication, and on the way teachers plan and deliver curriculum in the classroom.”

Mr Brumby said students were already using mobile devices at school and home to access the internet and interact with their peers, and the iPad would capture their interest and deliver learning benefits.

“The iPad will take its place in classrooms alongside netbooks, interactive whiteboards and the revolutionary online learning portal – Ultranet,” he said.

The schools participating in the trial include the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and Manor Lakes P-12 Specialist College in Wyndham Vale.

Students battling illness at the Royal Children’s Hospital will also be included in the iPad trial through the hospital’s Education Institute. The Department is finalising the remaining schools that will participate in the trial.

Mr Brumby said the iPad trial was one of many innovative technology programs being rolled out at Victorian Government schools.

“This year alone, our Government is investing more than $150 million in information communication technology in schools, so students stay up-to-date with the digital age,” he said.

“The first phase of the Ultranet is connecting 580,000 Victorian students and teachers to cutting edge digital resources and reflects the modern classroom by breaking down the traditional walls.

“This Government agrees with parents that nothing is more important than their children’s education, that’s why we’re delivering the latest in learning technology – to give Victorian students a real head-start in life.”

From: "iPads for Victorian Schools in Australian First Trial", Premier John Brumby, Media Release, Victorian Government, 28 May 2010

APCO Emergency Communications Conference in Melbourne in March

The "2010 APCO Australasia Conference & Exhibition" is in Melbourne, 15-17 March 2010. The theme is "Technologies & Their Impact on Major Emergencies, A Case Study: Back to the Future – Black Saturday". Last year I attended, and presented, at the conference in Sydney, during the Victorian brushfires, along with people responsible for fighting the fires. This is a very useful conference for those in the emergency and security communications business.

STREAMS INCLUDE:

• Counter-Terrorism
• Critical Infrastructure
• Emergency Management & Response
• Future Technologies
• Information & Contract Management
• Training, Education & Planning
• Interoperability

Some 2010 Key Presenters Include

• David Thodey, Chief Executive Officer, Telstra Corporation
• Tony Pearce, Director General Emergency Management Australia
• Kyle Tyrrell, Lieutenant Colonel, Australian Defence Force
• Simon Overland, Chief Commissioner, Victoria Police
• Russell Rees, Chief Officer, Country Fire Authority Victoria
• Greg Sassella, Chief Executive Officer, Ambulance Victoria
• Christine Nixon, Head of the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction & Recovery Authority
• Michael Hallowes, Head of Strategic Operations, National Policing Improvement Agency UK
• Jolly Wong Chun-Kau, Chief Telecom Engineer, Hong Kong Police Force
• Bruce Farr, Chief, Toronto EMS
• Dr. David Boyd, Director of Command Control and Interoperability, Department of Homeland Security USA
• Dr David Jones, Head of Climate Analysis National Climate Centre, Bureau of Meteorology
• Dr. John Carnie, Chief Medical Officer Victoria
• Dr David Borth, Chief Technology Officer, Motorola
• Mike Wright, Executive Director - Wireless Engineering & Operations, Telstra Corporation

The Great Wave off Kanagawa in Melbourne

The National Gallery of Victoria currently has on display "The hollow of the deep-sea wave off Kanagawa" (神奈川沖浪裏 ,also known as "The Great Wave off Kanagawa") and other works by Katushika HOKUSAI. These include some of his Manga books, which he is said to have invented. These are books of sketches from everyday life, rather than the current meaning of Japanese comic books for adults.

Problems with Myki Smart Transport Card Website

The Victorian Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky has announced that the myki smart card ticketing system is available for trains in metropolitan Melbourne. However, there appear to be some problems with the myki web site.

1. The W3C Markup Validation Service reported 47 Errors and 65 warnings.
2. The W3C mobileOK Checker reported "This page is not mobile-friendly!".
3. The TAW automated accessibility test reported 4 Level One, 30 Level Two and 29 Level Three problems.

These would tend to make the web site less responsive and usable.

The accessibility problems are of particular concern. The web site says:

"We make every reasonable effort to ensure that this website reaches level AA conformance with World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG), and conforms to the Victorian Government's Accessibility Standard. ..."

From: Accessibility, MyKi, Victorian Government , 2009

This statement is clearly false (even this page with the accessibility claim on it had dozens of accessibility problems). A reasonable effort has not been made and the web site does not conform with level Double-A of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Not even the description of the level of compliance aimed for complies with the guidelines (the term "level AA" is incorrect: the correct term is "level Double-A"). On the face of it the Victorian Government is in breech of federal anti-discrimination legislation.

As an example the home page says: "Click the 'BUY' button below to take advantage of the FREE registered myki offer." The image below says "Buy", but the ALT text for the image does not say "Buy" it says "Get myki". This is very likely to confuse any user of the system who can't see the image because they are blind, would not be easily able to identify where "below" was and so would not be able to find a "buy" button. This very obvious problem should have been picked up if even the most minimal accessibility testing had been done.

Victorian Hybrid Buses

The Victorian Government is sponsoring a trial of two hybrid buses. As the video from the Victorian Transport Department explains, two types of hybrid bus are being trialled: the serial hybrid is more suited to slow routes with many stops, the parallel to longer routes with higher speed.

The series hybrid vehicle is for Ventura Coaches, with the wheels driven only by electric motors. It is claimed to reduce fuel use by 40%. There are 640 lithium ion batteries charged from a 2-litre diesel Volkswagen car engine. The internal combustion engine is much smaller than that normally used in a bus. As this is a full hybrid, the bus could, in theory act as a plug-in hybrid, or pure electric bus, charged from mains power. However, as Victorian electricity is primarily sourced from highly polluting brown coal, this would not have environmental benefits.

The Grendas Bus Service vehicle is a parallel hybrid (similar to a most hybrid cars), built from an Australian made Iveco bus chassis, Volgren Low Floor Route bus body and Cummins diesel Allison hybrid gearbox. This is used as a "Smart Bus" on the Springvale Road 888/889 route.

One aspect of the hybrid buses which is not clear is their fuel source. If the hybrid buses run on diesel they may have little environmental or cost advantages over conventional natural gas powered vehicles.

Victorian Transport Plan

The Victorian government has been promoting a "Victorian Transport Plan" on free to air TV using advertisements. This may have some unintended negative effects. I am in Canberra, which is not in Victoria, and yet I see the ads. This makes me wonder if the Victorian government is spending its transport money wisely.

The Victorian advertisements looks very similar to those which the NSW Government used to promote its "North West Metro". These advertisements were designed to reassure the public that this plan was going to be implemented very soon, unfortunately this turned out not to be true.

The Victorian government might usefully reallocate money from advertising a transport plan to replace its stalled MyKi smart card ticketing system. The Victorian Minister for Transport might like to visit Istanbul and ride their integrated public transport system, using an Akbil electronic token. Istanbul's Akbil is less technically sophisticated than Melbourne's MyKi, but has the advantage of being proved in daily use. Melbourne could benefit from such a system.

The Victorian government is renaming Melbourne's train system a 'Metro'. A metro system is distinguished by having a high capacity, frequent service. Usually with a metro there is no timetable, with services running at specified frequencies, such as every five to fifteen minutes. The Melbourne trains are not such a system and are therefore not a metro. As with the NSW failed North West project, simply relabeling a rail line a "Metro" will not make it one. In the case of Melbourne rail, the service is provided by a private operator, who could be taken to court for falsely offering a Metro service.

The last problem is that the Victorian government has made it very difficult to obtain the actual plan advertised. The plan is in the form of numerousdifficult to read files, some of which are very large, under an obscure link: "Download the plan":

Summary document

• The Victorian Transport Plan Overview (PDF, 1,535 KB, 28 pp.)
• The Victorian Transport Plan Overview (Rich Text Format, 325 KB)

Full document

• The Victorian Transport Plan (PDF, 13,514 KB, 164 pp.)
• The Victorian Transport Plan (Rich Text Format, 820 KB)

Document in parts

• Introduction and highlights (PDF, 919 KB, 13 pp.)
• Shaping Victoria for future success (PDF, 1,745 KB, 18 pp.)
• Shaping Victoria: Road demand map (PDF, 2,450 KB, 1 p.)
• Shaping Victoria: Rail demand map (PDF, 1,374 KB, 1 p.)
• Priority 1: Shaping Victoria (PDF, 906 KB, 9 pp.)
• Priority 2: Linking rural, regional and metro Victoria (PDF, 1396 KB, 15 pp.)
• Priority 3: Creating a Metro system (PDF, 1,621 KB, 23 pp.)
• Priority 4: Moving around Melbourne (PDF, 3,409 KB, 21 pp.)
• Priority 5: Taking practical steps for a sustainable future (PDF, 986 KB, 13 pp.)
• Priority 6: Strengthening Victoria's and Australia's economy (PDF, 2,250 KB, 20 pp.)
• Delivering The Victorian Transport Plan (PDF, 509 KB, 3 pp.)
• Appendices (PDF, 464 KB, 14 pp.)

Audio (MP3) version

• Overview MP3 Announcement (MP3, 135 KB)
• Table of contents (MP3, 360 KB)
• Message from the Premier (MP3, 1,360 KB)
• Message from the Ministers (MP3, 865 KB)
• Our acheivements (MP3, 1,000 KB)
• Highlights (MP3, 2,400 KB)
• Six Priorities for Action (MP3, 256 KB)
• Shaping Victoria (MP3, 760 KB)
• Linking rural, regional and metro Victoria (MP3, 1,110 KB)
• A Plan for all Victorians map (MP3, 1,070 KB)
• Creating a Metro system(MP3, 1,080 KB)
• Moving around Melbourne (MP3, 1,020 KB)
• Taking practical steps for a sustainable future(MP3, 830 KB)
• Strengthening Victoria's and Australia's economy (MP3, 1,140 KB)
• Project timelines (MP3, 2,710 KB)
• Copyright statement and alternative formats (MP3, 155 KB)
• Closing Announcement (MP3, 215 KB)

Consultant reports

1. Victorian Transport Plan Stakeholder Engagement Summary Report (PDF, 228 KB, 28 pp.)
2. Booz and Co: Melbourne Public Transport Standards Review (PDF, 217 KB, 15 pp.)
3. Edward Dotson: East West Link Needs Assessment Recommendations 1, 2, 3, 6 (PDF, 185 KB, 3 pp.)
4. GHD: EWLNA and Northern Link (PDF, 13,861 KB, 81 pp.)
5. GHD: Hoddle Street Advice (PDF, 19,168 KB, 91 pp.)
6. Maunsell: Review and Analysis of Historical and Proposed Commuter Ferry Services on Port Phillip (PDF, 657 KB, 49 pp.)
7. Meyrick: Economic Assessment (PDF, 321 KB, 28 pp.)
8. Price Waterhouse Coopers: Review of Social, Demographic and Land Use Analysis (PDF, 135 KB, 22 pp.)
9. Price Waterhouse Coopers: Additional Impacts Analysis (PDF, 505 KB, 22 pp.)
10. Price Waterhouse Coopers: Critique of Assessment of Conventional Costs and Benefits (PDF, 1561 KB, 41 pp.)
11. Price Waterhouse Coopers: Review of the Estimation of Wider Economic Benefits (PDF, 115 KB, 20 pp.)
12. SGS Economics and Planning: Melbourne Employment Projections (PDF, 933 KB, 34 pp.)
13. SGS Economics and Planning: Valuing Household Sector Non-Transport Benefits in Cost Benefits Analysis (PDF, 632 KB, 39 pp.)
14. Summary of Model Outputs (PDF, 1,802 KB, 23 pp.)
15. The Nous Group: Transport Abatement Wedges (PDF, 706 KB, 54 pp.)
16. Veitch Lister: Zenith Model Establishment And Validation Report (PDF, 2,935 KB, 34 pp.)
17. Veitch Lister: Background Assumptions (PDF, 919 KB, 11 pp.)