OzHub, the Macquarie Telecom-led cloud computing alliance, has come down firmly on the side of Optus over the copyright controversy surrounding Optus TV Now, warning that any moves to change the law "risk branding Australia a global luddite state."
The Obama administration in the US has issued an Open Government Directive that establishes deadlines for opening up access to public information and implementing 2.0-style Government initiatives.
The Obama directive is similar to the Declaration on Open Government
that the Australian Government 2.0 Taskforce recommended the
Commonwealth adopt in its draft report issued this week.
Issued by the Executive Office of the President, the Open Government
Directive sets a timetable for US departments to implement policies and
actions on the principles of transparency, participation and
collaboration.
The directive is the policy document developed as a response to
President Obama’s Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government issued
in January and directs departments on specific actions that are now
required to implement those three principles.
"This Open Government Directive establishes deadlines for action," the paper says.
"But because of the presumption of openness that the President has
endorsed, agencies are encouraged to advance their open government
initiatives well ahead of those deadlines."
At the top of the agenda is a call for all government information to be
made available online and in an open format – and that the default
position of agencies' attitude to releasing information shall "respect
the presumption of openness."
To accelerate the process, the directive gives US departments and
agencies 45 days to identify and publish at least three "high-value"
datasets online, and 60 days to create an "Open Government Webpage" to
host all its data sets.
It also sets out a timetable for improving the quality of Government
data sets, with agencies given 45 days to find and appoint a senior
public service official to oversee and be accountable for the quality
of data accessible by the public.
The directive also sets out guidelines for creating and
institutionalising a culture of openness – one of the key challenges
identified by the Government 2.0 Taskforce in improving openness within
the Australian Public Service.
"Achieving a more open government will require the various professional
disciplines within the Government – such as policy, legal, procurement,
finance, and technology operations – to work together to define and to
develop open government solutions," it said.
Incorporating 2.0 style collaborative tools within Government is one of
the most active areas of public administration. British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown delivered a major speech on Smart Government addressing
similar openness issues in the US this week.
David Frost
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