IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The challenge of delivering quality government services to the people of New Zealand is not one that can be met solely with the tools that we relied on in the past. It is a challenge that cannot be met properly by individual departments working in isolation. And it is a challenge that cannot be grasped and understood without a good deal of forward planning, and hard thinking from the best minds across government.

PCC won the Supreme Award on Monday (3 May) at the Association of Local Government Information Management (ALGIM) Web Symposium in Wellington. Council Website Manager Dale Hartle, who accepted the award, says since ALGIM began the survey in 2008, the PCC website has gone from strength to strength.

"In 2008 we came 23rd and took on board the feedback that year to where we pulled ourselves up to third place last year. We were thrilled with that ranking and of course continued to fine tune the site. Even so I was flabbergasted when Porirua City Council was named the Supreme winner that words escaped me - and I'm a Distinguished Toastmaster. It's like winning the Oscars of the web world!"

The Federated Farmers, New Zealand’s leading rural sector organisation representing 17,000 farmers and rural families, said this move is critical for wireless broadband and will provide a pathway to next generation technologies.

Don Nicolson, Federated Farmers President said the confirmation of the NZ$252 million (US$201 million) increase for rural broadband it has petitioned for will finally generate results for rural New Zealand.

Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, and US offer advice on potential smart city vulnerabilities and how to mitigate them.

New guidance, Cybersecurity Best Practices for Smart Cities, wants to raise awareness among communities and organizations implementing smart city technologies that these beneficial technologies can also have potential vulnerabilities. A collaboration among the Five Eye nations (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US), it advises communities considering becoming smart cities to assess and mitigate the cybersecurity risks that comes with the technology.

A joint effort between the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada and New Zealand yielded recommendations to prevent cyber attacks on increasingly digital infrastructure.

As municipal infrastructure becomes increasingly integrated with technologies to improve the operations and efficiency of basic utilities—running water, power, and internet access—the governments of the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada and New Zealand launched updated cybersecurity protocols.

The concept of heavily connected, internet driven Smart Cities bristling with digital cameras and sensors might have been the dream of Big Tech firms like Google and Amazon looking to rewire urban infrastructure in their own image, but the Five Eyes intelligence community, including the Australian Signals Directorate, has just fired off a serious new warning about the major cyber risks technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT)  and 5G now pose.

In a major upgrade to advice previously directed at the deployment of 5G networks, the Five Eyes agencies are now telling everyone from major carriers to town mayors and wastewater operators to take a serious second look at the heavily-pumped notion of connecting everything from rubbish bins to traffic lights to the net.

Millar says across the world shared services initiatives have struggled.

Universitas Indonesia (UI) has collaborated with Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, to introduce the first post-graduate e-Government program in Asia Pacific.

The e-government program is developed specifically to enable professionals to learn, develop and manage e-government initiatives such as the transformation of digital services and the online form of public engagement.

The trialled technology from biometrics technology firm Daon takes a photo of the person applying for a visa, and then uses this photo to verify the identity of the applicant when they attempt to gain entry to the country.

"Over the next few years [Immigration New Zealand] plans to use biometrics to confirm the identity of visa applicants and travellers at the border," Immigration New Zealand said in a statement. "Any technologies adopted will have substantial privacy safeguards, in accordance with New Zealand privacy laws."

New Zealand is 18th, Australia 17th; the kangaroo might one day be beaten by the kiwi!

I'm not sure if this will happen, as richer Australia with its larger population means that its markets can be more competitive, so technology is cheaper and used more.

Providing better access to knowledge about online behaviour, including an 0800 helpline, are among the recommendations in a report from Victoria University of Wellington about New Zealanders’ online behaviour.

Does the ICT skills shortage exist? As is so often the case, answers to that question tend to start with “it all depends what you mean by …”

“There is an ongoing strong demand for ICT skills across many industry verticals. The NBN and high-speed broadband applications, mobility convergence, e-health, e-security and other initiatives continue to drive demand for ICT skills,” said Alan Patterson, CEO of the Australian Computer Society.

That's one avenue some councils may push down in the coming year as Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) tries to build a platform for such procurement and group services companies.

Over the last six months LGNZ has launched a push for a Queensland-style approach to shared services and procurement that is already saving Queensland councils more than A$100 million per year.

The tender, the details of which have remained commercial-in-confidence, would see Medtech’s New Zealand subsidiary and New Zealand Post subsidiary, Datam, jointly provide software and services for a minimum seven years with a potential three year extension. Datam will provide support, maintenance and development throughout the project.

The Government will continue to help get seniors digitally enabled, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen announced today.

Six providers of digital training will deliver essential digital skills courses for up to 5,000 learners around the country.

“Being online is increasingly important for participation in modern life, but as many as one in four older people do not access the internet regularly,” Ginny Andersen said.