Info Commissioner to drive Gov 2.0: Lundy

James Riley
Wednesday, 03 November 2010 21:55

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

The newly-created Office of the Australian Information Commissioner would bring with it an era with much easier access to public sector information and a boon for Gov 2.0 practices, Parliamentary Secretary Kate Lundy said.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner came into effect from 9am last Monday, the result of a major package of reform legislation passed last March, and would play a key role in the development of open government practices, including open data and public engagement.

Speaking at the CeBIT Gov 2.0 conference in Canberra, Senator Lundy said the Information Commissioner, together with the Australian Government Information Management Office and the Australian Public Sector Commissioner within the department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, would drive Gov 2.0 practices - and in particular the release of public sector information.

"Open public information and (public sector information) as a public national resource is a key agenda," Senator Lundy said. "I think this principle sits at the heart of open and transparent government."

"We as a Government firmly believe that the default position of information should be that it is public unless there is a very good reason for it not to be," she told the CeBIT conference.

"Structurally and practically this is a huge challenge within the public service. However, once the systems and tools are in place, longer term management of Government data would be certainly easier and more efficient than is currently case."

Senator Lundy said the National Broadband Network was another key reform that would underpin the implementation of more open and transparent government and Gov 2.0 practices.

"The primary tool of openness in the 21st Century is the internet '¦ (therefore) it is important for a genuinely open government to have a strategy for universal Internet access that is affordable, high speed and accessible to all," Senator Lundy said.

"We have developed a world class strategy for universal internet access in Australia with the National Broadband Network, a policy that incorporates the best technologies available and a structure that supports real competition in our telecommunications industry."

"Without this policy, our investments in open and transparent government would be the purview of the privileged few," she said..

"The NBN is not just economic infrastructure for the future, it's the necessary social infrastructure for the future that will underpin democratic engagement and empowerment of citizens in this country."