Dr LIM - 1997-04-29
I refer to an area in which I am particularly interested and in which I have some expertise. The minister has portfolio responsibility for the government's information technology business division, NCOM. In its information technology policy, released last month, the ALP described NCOM as `rooted in old ideas'. Specifically, the ALP said: `The Noah's Ark government network designed by NCOM is past its use-by date'. Is NCOM able to demonstrate its credentials as the government's leader in information technology ideas, initiatives and achievements?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it was rather surprising to note that, in its policy statement on information technology, the opposition referred to the network as `Noah's Ark' and to NCOM as being `rooted in old ideas'. What is more surprising is that the ALP was denigrating NCOM staff in this dismissive and patronising manner at the very time when NCOM was awarded the national gold medal in Canberra for its `brilliant and innovative work' in developing a whole-of-government electronic mail system. The 10th Government Technology Productivity Awards were contested vigorously by all government authorities in Australia. The gold award
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is highly regarded. It is certainly not won by bodies that are `rooted in old ideas' and past their use-by date.
The award was for NCOM's development of a productivity solution that is practical, useful and rewarding for everybody involved and for its 9000 users. Once you use it, the whole-of-government electronic mail implementation seems to be so simple, so functional, so cost-effective and so firmly based in commonsense that one wonders why we have not had it previously and why everybody else in the world does not have one just like it. Previously, many government agencies in the Territory used their own mail systems with different standards, limited numbers of users and little or no connectivity with other agencies. Use of the Internet for electronic mail was either not available or greatly limited and, in some cases, insecure. The task was, therefore, to join up 82 separate sites in 14 different geographical locations to an electronic mail system to produce seamless, standard, efficient and equitable communications for everybody. It was completed with the invaluable assistance of
vendors such as Ibis, Lotus and Computer Support and Maintenance.
The public can now use Internet electronic mail to communicate directly with individuals in the Territory government. It is used to notify vendors of government consulting assignments and for official documents such as government tenders. We hope to enter into a paperless tendering process whereby even detailed drawings will be available on computer for tenderers. It is estimated that electronic mail produces savings in external government telephone and fax charges amounting to around $100 000 per year. That is not bad, coming from something `rooted in old ideas' and `past its use-by date'. There will be postage savings of $25 000 a year, stationery savings of $50 000 a year, and filing and storage space savings of $25 000 a year. As well, productivity gains are estimated at around 10 minutes per day per user which equates to a saving of $50 000 per day across government. That all sounds quite brilliant to me, and a far cry from the ALP description of a `Noah's Ark government network'. It also seems that the national judges of the Government Technology Productivity Awards look on NCOM's efforts in a more positive light than the ALP does. It is difficult to give any credibility to the ALP's view because it is simply a fact that the Northern Territory has the only whole-of-government, wide-area network in all of Australia. Other governments are still trying to accomplish this feat.
Evaluation of NCOM's performance has concluded that it has delivered savings to the Territory government in the past 5 years amounting to $90m. It has also delivered productivity tools to government employees that are simply not available in any state or the federal government. The opposition should not bag NCOM on the basis of something it has learnt at Yuendumu on the Tanami Network. I am told that the only network that certain areas of government have difficulty with is the Tanami Network. I am not sure whether there is some coding there that bars us from its use.
It does not do the ALP any good at all to bag NCOM, given the productivity that it has delivered to the government, the level of savings it has achieved and the national award that it has won. We are the envy of governments throughout Australia which simply do not have the facilities that are available to us. I commend the activities of all NCOM employees, particularly some of the head staff, to honourable members. They do a fantastic job for the Northern Territory. They have saved the Territory millions of dollars and they will continue to
Page 2079
be leaders in their field and the envy of other information technology centres throughout Australia - indeed, perhaps the world.
Page 2080
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it was rather surprising to note that, in its policy statement on information technology, the opposition referred to the network as `Noah's Ark' and to NCOM as being `rooted in old ideas'. What is more surprising is that the ALP was denigrating NCOM staff in this dismissive and patronising manner at the very time when NCOM was awarded the national gold medal in Canberra for its `brilliant and innovative work' in developing a whole-of-government electronic mail system. The 10th Government Technology Productivity Awards were contested vigorously by all government authorities in Australia. The gold award
Page 2078
is highly regarded. It is certainly not won by bodies that are `rooted in old ideas' and past their use-by date.
The award was for NCOM's development of a productivity solution that is practical, useful and rewarding for everybody involved and for its 9000 users. Once you use it, the whole-of-government electronic mail implementation seems to be so simple, so functional, so cost-effective and so firmly based in commonsense that one wonders why we have not had it previously and why everybody else in the world does not have one just like it. Previously, many government agencies in the Territory used their own mail systems with different standards, limited numbers of users and little or no connectivity with other agencies. Use of the Internet for electronic mail was either not available or greatly limited and, in some cases, insecure. The task was, therefore, to join up 82 separate sites in 14 different geographical locations to an electronic mail system to produce seamless, standard, efficient and equitable communications for everybody. It was completed with the invaluable assistance of
vendors such as Ibis, Lotus and Computer Support and Maintenance.
The public can now use Internet electronic mail to communicate directly with individuals in the Territory government. It is used to notify vendors of government consulting assignments and for official documents such as government tenders. We hope to enter into a paperless tendering process whereby even detailed drawings will be available on computer for tenderers. It is estimated that electronic mail produces savings in external government telephone and fax charges amounting to around $100 000 per year. That is not bad, coming from something `rooted in old ideas' and `past its use-by date'. There will be postage savings of $25 000 a year, stationery savings of $50 000 a year, and filing and storage space savings of $25 000 a year. As well, productivity gains are estimated at around 10 minutes per day per user which equates to a saving of $50 000 per day across government. That all sounds quite brilliant to me, and a far cry from the ALP description of a `Noah's Ark government network'. It also seems that the national judges of the Government Technology Productivity Awards look on NCOM's efforts in a more positive light than the ALP does. It is difficult to give any credibility to the ALP's view because it is simply a fact that the Northern Territory has the only whole-of-government, wide-area network in all of Australia. Other governments are still trying to accomplish this feat.
Evaluation of NCOM's performance has concluded that it has delivered savings to the Territory government in the past 5 years amounting to $90m. It has also delivered productivity tools to government employees that are simply not available in any state or the federal government. The opposition should not bag NCOM on the basis of something it has learnt at Yuendumu on the Tanami Network. I am told that the only network that certain areas of government have difficulty with is the Tanami Network. I am not sure whether there is some coding there that bars us from its use.
It does not do the ALP any good at all to bag NCOM, given the productivity that it has delivered to the government, the level of savings it has achieved and the national award that it has won. We are the envy of governments throughout Australia which simply do not have the facilities that are available to us. I commend the activities of all NCOM employees, particularly some of the head staff, to honourable members. They do a fantastic job for the Northern Territory. They have saved the Territory millions of dollars and they will continue to
Page 2079
be leaders in their field and the envy of other information technology centres throughout Australia - indeed, perhaps the world.
Page 2080
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016