❓ The Minister for Innovation updates the house on the newly released whole-of-government ICT strategy, highlighting its potential to drive innovation, reduce costs, and improve public sector efficiency through reduced duplication and improved data access.
AnsweredQoN 349Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT
INFORMATION ANDCOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 2016–2020
349. Mr M.H.
TAYLOR to the Minister for Innovation:
Can
the minister please update the house on the recent release of the
whole-of-government information and communications technology strategy, and how
it will drive innovation and lead to savings within the public sector?
INFORMATION ANDCOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 2016–2020
349. Mr M.H.
TAYLOR to the Minister for Innovation:
Can
the minister please update the house on the recent release of the
whole-of-government information and communications technology strategy, and how
it will drive innovation and lead to savings within the public sector?
AnswerView source ↗
I
thank the member for Bateman for a very good question. I am proud to announce
that the Western Australian Barnett government has released the very first ICT
strategy in Western Australia's history. The member for Bateman is a strong
supporter of innovation, particularly start-ups, and he understands the
importance of having a government ICT structure that supports not only better
delivery of services in government but also better community access to
government services and a move towards more online services. This strategy,
which I released a few weeks ago, will reduce costs and increase the efficiency
of government services by reducing duplication and waste throughout government,
particularly with regard to hardware and software duplication across many
departments. The strategy was developed through extensive consultation with
peak bodies, including the Australian Information Industry Association and the
Australian Computer Society; we have had a lot of input from them. A lot of
research was undertaken and the strategy has had a lot of input from everybody,
so I am very confident that this strategy will, over the next few years,
provide a more comprehensive structure for the delivery of ICT services in
government.
Some
of the themes the strategy will concentrate on include an open data portal, so
that the data that is available in government departments will be accessible
across government departments and by industry and consumers. That will allow
start-up industries to actually access data and perhaps come up with innovative
solutions that will benefit consumers in Western Australia. An example is the
wonderful emergency department app that was released by my department, WA ED; I
am sure members all have it on their iPhones.
One
thing I want to ensure is that we are not setting up a department that is like
the old information and technology department. The delivery of ICT is still the
responsibility of each minister, so it is not the role of the Department of
Finance to interfere, but it is important that we have a consistent approach to
the delivery of ICT services and that we can make great savings.
Governance
is a very important aspect of ICT delivery, as recognised by a number of
Auditor General's reports over many decades, including a recent one.
The new governance structure will be oversighted by a director general's
committee that will look at an overall policy around making sure there is
consistency in the delivery of ICT. The committee will report through my chief
information officer, so I will make sure that there will be consistency across
all departments in terms of delivery of service.
I
table the document, ''Digital WA: Western Australian Government
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Strategy 2016–2020'',
the very first ICT strategy ever delivered by a government in Western Australia.
[See
paper 4215.]
thank the member for Bateman for a very good question. I am proud to announce
that the Western Australian Barnett government has released the very first ICT
strategy in Western Australia's history. The member for Bateman is a strong
supporter of innovation, particularly start-ups, and he understands the
importance of having a government ICT structure that supports not only better
delivery of services in government but also better community access to
government services and a move towards more online services. This strategy,
which I released a few weeks ago, will reduce costs and increase the efficiency
of government services by reducing duplication and waste throughout government,
particularly with regard to hardware and software duplication across many
departments. The strategy was developed through extensive consultation with
peak bodies, including the Australian Information Industry Association and the
Australian Computer Society; we have had a lot of input from them. A lot of
research was undertaken and the strategy has had a lot of input from everybody,
so I am very confident that this strategy will, over the next few years,
provide a more comprehensive structure for the delivery of ICT services in
government.
Some
of the themes the strategy will concentrate on include an open data portal, so
that the data that is available in government departments will be accessible
across government departments and by industry and consumers. That will allow
start-up industries to actually access data and perhaps come up with innovative
solutions that will benefit consumers in Western Australia. An example is the
wonderful emergency department app that was released by my department, WA ED; I
am sure members all have it on their iPhones.
One
thing I want to ensure is that we are not setting up a department that is like
the old information and technology department. The delivery of ICT is still the
responsibility of each minister, so it is not the role of the Department of
Finance to interfere, but it is important that we have a consistent approach to
the delivery of ICT services and that we can make great savings.
Governance
is a very important aspect of ICT delivery, as recognised by a number of
Auditor General's reports over many decades, including a recent one.
The new governance structure will be oversighted by a director general's
committee that will look at an overall policy around making sure there is
consistency in the delivery of ICT. The committee will report through my chief
information officer, so I will make sure that there will be consistency across
all departments in terms of delivery of service.
I
table the document, ''Digital WA: Western Australian Government
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Strategy 2016–2020'',
the very first ICT strategy ever delivered by a government in Western Australia.
[See
paper 4215.]
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.