[LINK] Government online

[rchirgwin at ozemail.com.au]

Hmmm....

>A solid two decades after Australian banks pioneered Eftpos, Medicare – t
>he
>government’s second largest payments organ – was finally enabling its c
>ustomers
>to claim refunds at the surgery.
>
>"Each day 80,000 people queue at a Medicare office to claim their rebate,"
>Howard told the Mosman gathering. He also cited an estimate by forecasting 
>and
>consulting group Access Economics that the average cost in time and resourc
>es
>to make such a claim is $10.
>
>"The private sector [banks] has indicated it can provide this technology si
>mply
>and quickly and the Australian Medical Association has given its support fo
>r
>the proposal," Howard said.
>
>Why it took 20 years to get there, and what has happened in between, deserv
>es
>further explanation.
>  
>
God knows why the line breaks broke ...

I love the "20 years" thing. 20 years ago Westpac was just laying the 
groundwork for one of the biggest debacles in Australian IT, CS-87 was 
it? ...

RC