“This is a great birthday present – the award was won exactly one year on from the portal’s launch,” State Services Minister Trevor Mallard. “It is particularly pleasing that it’s the general readers of NetGuide, rather than industry experts, who helped to vote it the best government website.
“Around 27,000 votes were cast for all categories in the awards, and winners were decided on the basis of both votes cast and the quality rating of the site by consumers.
“The judges found the website to be an excellent portal for all government bodies and authorities, loads of forms can be downloaded and it was a true one stop shop for everything government. This confirms what people are telling us in e-mails to the site.
”Our government is committed to strengthening the public service and this portal is an important part of that strategy as its aims, through a popular and easy-to-use medium, to improve the service government departments deliver to New Zealanders.
“The portal was built using government website guidelines that ensure people can easily access information, regardless of the speed of their Internet connection. Users can quickly find the government information they want without having to make a trip into town or wait on a telephone.
“The portal now has some 5500 local and central government services and information resources listed. It receives some two million hits a week, a figure that has been climbing steadily since the launch of the portal. The portal has some 80,000 individual visits a week, making it one of the most visited sites in New Zealand.
“Congratulations to the State Service Commission’s E-government Unit, and their suppliers, who have worked so hard to make the portal a success,” Trevor Mallard said.
Quelle: Scoop, 17.11.2003
