Australian Government unveils extended portal strategy - News - Business

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Australian Government unveils extended portal strategy

By Jeanne-Vida Douglas, ZDNet Australia
February 28, 2002
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/Australian-Government-unveils-extended-portal-strategy/0,139023166,120263734,00.htm

After patting himself on the back for having transferred the bulk of Commonwealth Government services online, Australian Prime Minister John Howard announced the strategic aggregation of such services under a single entry point, australia.gov.au.

According to a government statement, the site will eventually provide entry into 18 portals, which will link back through to Federal, State and local government sites. While the Federal Government statement was written using all of the appropriate terminology, referring to seamless integrated services, it failed to provide a timeline in which such services are to be delivered.

Clearly excited by the fanfare surrounding the WCIT, the Federal Government also announced the formation of the Framework for the Future , essentially a committee designed to create closer links between the information technology sector and the wider industry.

The group will be overseen by a governmental steering committee chaired by the Federal Minister for Information Technology, Richard Alston.

The government also provided more details regarding the Broadband Advisory Group, designed to provide a forum for stakeholders from both the supply-side and demand-side of the broadband spectrum.

Participation in the group will be by ministerial invitation only, and include "high-level stakeholders from the ICT industry, the business community, major service providers and key users in from health and community sectors".