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In other government ICT news this week, 04 March 2013

by Intermedium •
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The final Queensland Commission of Audit Report by Peter Costello, delivered to Government last week, will likely lead to the privatisation of Government services, including prisons, public housing and disability services. The interim report released mid-2012 suggested that Government ICT providers CITEC and Queensland Shared Services be sold off in a bid to reduce the State’s considerable deficit.

Softsols, Delegate Healthcare Solutions and Wilson Technology Solutions have secured three of six facilities management applications contracts for WA’s Fiona Stanley hospital project under Serco’s newly developed fourth tranche for ICT procurement. The total value of the tranche is estimated to be $30 million, bringing the cost of ICT Hardware, Software, Consumables and Service for the hospital to over $102 million, to date.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has signed a $4.1 million contract with Macquarie Telecom for the provision of Secure Internet Gateway Services. As a lead agency under the Government’s Internet Gateway Reduction Program, DAFF has an ongoing arrangement with Macquarie Telecom (expiring June 2018) to deliver secure internet gateway services to twelve other agencies.

An IT systems glitch at Canberra Hospital last week led to “non-urgent” cases being directed to other medical facilities. The Emergency Department reverted to paper systems for urgent patients, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. A new server, due to be implemented a fortnight later, was brought online to fix the problem.

The Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) has signed a one-year contract with Akamai for the provision of content delivery management (CDM) software to better equip its website for high traffic, after crashes during the January bushfires. CFA is also redesigning its problematic FireReady app and exploring alternative information delivery methods to mobile devices, reports Computerworld.

Northern Territory’s Chief Minister Terry Mills has announced a number of senior appointments to the Government, including Gary Barnes as Chief Executive Office (CEO) of the Department of the Chief Minister and Kathleen Robinson as CEO of the Department of Corporate and Information Services.

Assistant Commissioner David Hudson has been appointed as the new Deputy Commissioner, Corporate Services at NSW Police and Emergency Services. His main focus will be providing specialist and corporate support to the frontline.

The NSW Government spent over $492 million on labour hire contractors in 2011-12, an increase of around $24 million from the previous year. The number of contracted staff also increased to nearly 16,000. Meanwhile, the State Government has announced cutbacks of 15,000 public sector workers, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

The new Draft Australian Curriculum: Technologies is open for consultation until May, with a final paper due by the end of the year. The curriculum includes ICT and digital technologies being taught from Foundation to Year 10 for the first time, reports PS News.

The South Australian Government has announced the launch of its My Invoice web portal in March. The website allows small businesses to track the progress of their payments to the Government and publishes the Government’s monthly payment performance reports online.

SA’s enhanced National Emergency Alert system will automatically send emergency warnings to mobile phones in relevant areas through a Location Based Solution. The technology is already used by Telstra and will be adopted by Vodafone and Optus from November 2013.

The Victorian Government is evaluating overseas roadside technology that detects tailgating to accompany the introduction of new laws that will allow police to fine tailgaters, reports the Courier Mail.

Trend Micro managing director Sanjay Mehta says the Australian Government’s $1.46 billion cyber security pledge may be used for situational awareness that ensures technology and people are able to detect malware, reports ARN. This approach would parallel the US Government’s recent $6 billion initiative.

 

Related Articles:

Queensland's new IT Minister to have strategy done by June

DAFF opens bidding for $25 million telco opportunity

Interview: NSW Police’s new CIO on cloud, outsourcing, BYOD and more

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