Conroy tackles bureaucrats on ICT ministry

Communications minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, will "take on the bureaucracy" in an effort to bring cross-departmental communication on ICT-related matters closer together following the Federal election.

"If you thought wrestling with Telstra, having a bit of a stoush with Google were tough, I've got to take the bureaucracy on next," he said at a press conference held by the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) this week.

"I know the industry has been calling for there to be a consolidation and I think that's a very positive thing. It's not easy being right there across so many different departments."

His statements fuel speculation that the Gillard Government would institute an IT ministry if it were elected in the Federal election on 21 August.

AIIA chief executive officer, Ian Birks, reiterated industry frustration over the current distribution of IT-related responsibilities among departments, saying it was “siloed”.

“There isn’t a lot of communication between the Department of Innovation and Industry, and the Department of Broadband and the other key sector portfolios like health, education and energy,” Birks said.

Instead of a specific IT ministry, the industry group has been lobbying for a productivity portfolio that would work in a cross-government sense to provide a focal point for application of technologies in varied sectors.

"Essentially, we think that the key messages of our industry really are better achieved through a more holistic view of where technology plays a role rather than narrowing it to specifically an ICT focus," he told Computerworld Australia this week.

"We see that the language of politics at the moment is more consistent in a focus on productivity. We think it naturally links to applications of technology across the whole of the industry, government and society."

According to Birks, such a portfolio would focus on productivity between departments above other concerns, working in a cross-government manner to provide "a focal point for where technology could be applied in the broader sense".

Conroy initially forgot to mention the Department of Finance and Deregulation - which runs the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) - when listing the number of different departments that handle a variety of IT responsibilities. However, on being reminded, he joked about their role.

"Can you think of a more appropriate bunch of individuals than the Department of Finance to liaise with the Australian public at large in the e-era," Conroy said. "Finance officials - someone really did have a sense of humour with that one."

The Department of Finance and Deregulation, currently led by departing minister, Lindsay Tanner, has the responsibility over whole-of-government IT procurement and management, as well as implementation of online government engagement practices recommended by the Gov 2.0 Taskforce report.

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