New South Wales, Australia, has unveiled its grand vision for electronic service delivery and IT streamlining, saying it will carve $565 million over four years from the state’s $1 billion annual IT and communications budget – including $20 million saved through the loss of around 200 jobs.
John Della Bosca, NSW Commerce Minister, unveiling the strategy in Sydney, said the overall aim of the program was to improve the delivery of government services. This would be done by improving the public’s access to e-Government services, and by consolidating and improving government procurement and systems, and funneling the money saved back into ‘front line’ services. NSW Government chief information officer Paul Edgecumbe said that consolidation of systems and purchasing across agencies, particularly on back end systems such as human resources, payroll and email, would mean cuts in the state’s IT workforce.
