[LINK] IT in the Budget

[Roger Clarke]

Can anyone explain to this ancient software development person how this vast quantity of taxpayers' money can be expended on such straightforward projects?

http://www.itnews.com.au/news/all-the-tech-in-the-coalitions-budget-2016-418972
>$178.3 million for the Department of Health to integrate existing state and territory-based registers for cervical cancer and bowel cancer screening into an single national register 
>$50.5 million over five years to continue supporting MyGov
>$12.4 million to upgrade IT systems across various agencies to create a more transparent reporting scheme for limited tendering processes
>$6.2 million to build a new levy calculator and to modify billing systems that will enable industry charging changes at ASIC from 2017-18
>$1.8 million to overhaul DFAT's fair trade agreement online portal


Note too these little numbers:
>$28.9 million over three years to top up CrimTrac's $50.2 million build of a biometrics identification services (BIS) system, which will replace the existing national automated fingerprint identification system
>$5.3 million to the Digital Transformation Office to fund the trusted digital identity framework


And how's this for a breach of democratic transparency:
>An undisclosed top-up sum to the Bureau of Meteorology to "improve the data and services" backing the build of its new supercomputer. The funding total remains commercial in confidence

So, even in advance of abandoning national sovereignty in order to comply with the TPP, a corporation can tell the Australian Parliament to appropriate funding to a government agency without publishing the amount approved!


And, to a consultant in 'digital transformation' (previously in eBusiness, and before that in eCommerce, but back in the mists of time in EDI), it's just astounding that this item could still exist, four decades on:
>Additionally, the ATO and Treasury will jointly investigate the feasibility of adopting electronic invoicing across the federal government and even into the states and territories.


-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
Tel: +61 2 6288 6916                        http://about.me/roger.clarke
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law            University of N.S.W.
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University