Government Policies
technology that is dramatically and rapidly changing its
economy and society. In response to this
situation the
government has a vision that is anchored in
developing a
comprehensive policy for its IT industry.
The Government is rising to meet challenges by implementing
various policies: 12
Providing
strong leadership
The Government sets national priorities in a global perspective,
encouraging Australians to embrace the
information age and
lead by example. This includes the
establishment of a Ministerial
Council to develop a National Information and Online Services
Strategy. The Government has also established
the National
Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) which develops
and coordinates broad policy relating to
regulatory and legal
environment for online activities. The Office
of Government
Information Technology (OGIT) is responsible for the overall
coordinating and implementing of Government’s policies to meet
citizen’s need.
Encouraging business and consumer confidence
The Government aims to provide a
relatively non-interventionist,
yet pragmatic, framework for supporting and encouraging
private
sector led development of the information
economy. With
passage of the Telecommunications Act 1997
earlier this year,
the Government introduced a new era in
telecommunications,
characterized by full competition in carriage
and services, to foster
best practice regarding communications prices
and national and
international access. In order to avoid
legislation, the Government
also avoids taxes on electronic commerce. To
ensure
international interoperability of regulatory
frameworks
between different countries, the Government
emphasizes on
self regulation.
Getting
The Government is providing
leadership in information economy by
adopting online technologies to better services
and improve its own
business practices. These includes delivering
Commonwealth services
electronically on the internet, establishing electronic
payment as a
normal means for Commonwealth payments,
developing infrastructure for
Government wide intranet for secure online
communication etc.
It is also playing a very important role to educate and train
Australians
to create a workforce with requisite skills to
compete in the information
economy, through the Ministerial Council of
Education,
Employment and Training and Youth Affairs. In
order to
raise community awareness the NOIE website
plays a key role.
Furthermore, the Government also implements many funding
programs to enhance access for remote areas and
people with
disabilities.
Fostering
the development of Information industries
To foster the development of the
information industries the
Government has initiated the Information Industries Action Agenda
which aims to assist the establishment of new
industries
in the information sector. Other initiatives
include increased
cooperation with State and Territory
governments, initiatives
to promote R&D etc.