Lundy wins global Gov 2.0 award

James Riley
Friday, 15 October 2010 13:49

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

Freshly-minted Parliamentary Secretary Kate Lundy was awarded the top prize at the World eGovernment Forum in Paris overnight, with an international panel voting her the planet's most influential and effective eDemocracy and Gov 2.0 leader.

The ACT Senator was presented with the International eDemocracy Award by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in recognition of her energetic and forward-thinking work toward building Open Government culture and practice within the Australian public sector.

Senator Lundy, a long time advocate for the power of ICT innovation to transform industries across the whole economy, focused her attention during the last government on the raw potential of 2.0 technology to improve Government policy processes and service delivery.

Working across portfolios and in close cooperation with former Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner and former Special Minister of State Joe Ludwig, Senator Lundy pressed the case for the creation of a Gov2.0 Taskforce.

The Taskforce which subsequently recommended government adopt a raft of measures ranging from making public sector data more available to citizens, to adopting 2.0-style technology to better engage with the citizenry.

Shortly before the Federal election, Mr Tanner formally made a Declaration on Open Government on behalf of the Commonwealth, a direct result of the Gov 2.0 Taskforce work.

The declaration will serve as a sign-post in assisting the creation of a public sector culture that promotes transparency and openness, and encourages collaboration. It also underpins initiatives like the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and promotes the use and re-use of government data.