Reinecke: Unfinished business for Gershon

James Riley
Thursday, 18 November 2010 16:40

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

The major cost-saving goals outlined in the Federal Government's Gershon Report on technology procurement had largely been achieved, but securing longer term strategic objectives for the use of ICT in the public service required more work, an independent review has found.

Prepared by respected analyst and ehealth expert Dr Ian Reinecke, the independent review handed to former Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner prior to the federal election found that the bureaucratic framework within the public service was still not strong enough to drive long term technology strategies, particularly those where a whole of government approach was required.

The report also found that the pain of cutting ICT budgets had been a concern for departmental technology chiefs, who felt the measures were framing ICT spending as a cost to be contained rather than a productivity investment.

Gershon had sought to assuage those concerns by recommending half of all savings be re-invested in ICT projects - a measure that Dr Reinecke says was not entirely successful.

Unfortunately the Reneicke review was handed to Government before the Gillard Government's decision to return the Gershon savings to general revenue, so there is no discussion of its impact on Federal ICT operations.

Dr Reinecke also specifically recommends that the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) - which was charged with implementing Gershon - be more closely integrated into the Department of Finance as a means of better oversseing whole-of-government initiatives.

Since the election, however, a restructuring of agencies has meant that although AGIMO is still an agency within Finance, it no longer reports directly to the Finance Minister. Instead, the Australian chief information officer and AGIMO head Ann Steward reports to Special Minister of State Gary Gray.

The result is that AGIMO is no longer directly represented at the Cabinet table, as it was under Lindsay Tanner. Dr Reinecke's review was handed to Government before this change came into effect.

Overall, however, Dr Reineckie is positive about the Gershon implementation program, although he maintains that structural changes to ICT governance are still required.

The policy underpinnings recommended by the (Gershon) Report are now mostly in place," Dr Reinecke said. "Their continued execution however will require sustained management effort."

"This review has ... highlighted a number of areas needing improvement. Prime among them is the governance structure proposed by Gershon, which is not producing its intended business focus, and the vision and supporting strategies needed to continue to drive whole-of-government initiatives and ICT public sector reform," he said.

Among several recommendations, Dr Reinecke says the Gershon inspired Secretaries' Information Governance Board (SIGB) - made up of key department heads - be expanded to include two independent experts from outside of the Australian Public Service.