Labor leader Kevin Rudd has reinforced the importance of a high-speed national broadband network, describing it as the missing cog in the nation's future economic wheel.
Open source might get a better look-in within government, says Senator Kate Lundy, if those responsible for purchasing decisions were forced by policy to evaluate all the options on the market.
Abolishing the previous government's national identity card dubbed the Access Card means Labor will save over AU$1 billion, according to the Federal budget.
With its first 100 days behind it, Labor has given the IT industry a lot to think about: standing by election promises, centralising Federal government procurement, and instigating funding cuts.
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) is currently undertaking an audit into the state of IT in Australian secondary schools, with comments made by Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday confirming that the "digital divide" is a real phenomena.
I should have known better, but I was still a bit suprised to find absolutely zilch for broadband in the latest Howard-Costello Budget.
If someone gave you AU$93.5 million to spend, would you forget it? I wouldn't either. But this is exactly what seems to have happened in the aftermath of the 2007/8 federal budget, which was widely lambasted by many observers -- including yours truly -- for its lack of funding for meaningful ICT related initiatives.
As Rudd and Conroy railroad the NBN into reality, the Liberals are trying to inject some due process into the whole thing by holding Labor accountable for its decisions. However, with the future of Australian telecoms on the line and no real viable alternative, is it just a bit late for accountability?
The government dumped its well-intentioned bidders and spent the day awash in adulation from an industry that suddenly felt all its Christmases had come at once. But isn't this the same government that, two weeks ago, was warning it had to ditch key election promises for lack of funding?
Pretty soon, the government will be screening and filtering our email as well as making blogs like this one disappear.
The Australian Taxation's Change Program (which is best suited perhaps for simple formulaic tax collections, not complex audit, analysis and interpretation work) may collapse under its own dead weight.
Ahead of the election, with promises for nationwide broadband networks and digital revolutions in schools, the ICT industry could hope the government was on their side. But now the glamour of a sparkling new government has worn off, how ICT-friendly is the Rudd government really?
The biggest loser in this week's budget was broadband -- not one cent was allocated to improve infrastructure works. However, security was the winner with funding confirmed to fight intellectual property crime and cyber-terrorist attacks.
NBN Company executive chairman Mike Quigley and six other board members to be named this week have a series of straightforward "buy or build" decisions to make about Australia's fibre future.
Security researchers worked overtime in 2007, which turned out to be a nightmare for software vendors from day one.
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Google CEO Eric Schmidt
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Love me, tender
2009 funding drought rolls on
Can not-so-smart meters help the NBN?
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