Information policy and infrastructure in Australia

Journal of Government Information

Volumn 24, Issue 1, 1997, Pages 9-25

  Middleton, Michael ^a  

^a QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY   (Australia)

Author keywords

Australia; Government policy; Information industry; Information policy; Information technology; Legislation

Indexed keywords

EID: 0030642455     PISSN: 13520237     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/S1352-0237(96)00050-0     Document Type: Article

References (82)

1. 1. P.J. Judge, National Information Policy, (Canberra: Department of the Parliamentary Library, 1985-86).
2. 2. Australia, Department of Science, A National Information Policy for Australia: Discussion Paper (Canberra: Department of Science, 1985).
3. 3. Australia, Parliament, House of Representatives, Standing Committee for Long Term Strategies, Australia as an Information Society: Grasping New Paradigms: Report (Canberra: AGPS, May 1991).
4. 4. The chairman of the committee was the Australian Labor Party politician Barry Jones. Jones, known internationally for his book on the information society, Sleepers Wake! Technology and the Future of Work (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1982), led the development of the Australian Labor Party approach, particularly as Minister for Science. He had a large part to play in the Grasping New Paradigms document, but was unsuccessful in attuning government colleagues to a policy agenda.
5. 4. The chairman of the committee was the Australian Labor Party politician Barry Jones. Jones, known internationally for his book on the information society, Sleepers Wake! Technology and the Future of Work (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1982), led the development of the Australian Labor Party approach, particularly as Minister for Science. He had a large part to play in the Grasping New Paradigms document, but was unsuccessful in attuning government colleagues to a policy agenda.
6. 5. S. Fist, "Does Australia Need a National Information Policy?" Australian Communications, December-January 1993-94, 77-84.
7. 6. J.F. McLaughlin and A.E. Birinyi, "Mapping the Information Business," in Understanding New Media: Trends and Issues in Electronic Distribution of Information, ed. B.M. Compaine (Cambridge, MA: Ballinger, 1984), Fig. 2-35.
8. 7. Thus a parcel delivery agency is seen as being primarily a service-conduit, dictation equipment is seen as being a product-conduit, a videotex system is seen as being service-content, and books are seen as being product-content.
9. 8. ". . . a series of components: including the collection of public and private highspeed, interactive, narrow and broadband networks that exist today and will emerge tomorrow. It is the satellite, terrestrial, and wireless technologies that deliver content to homes, businesses, and other public and private institutions. It is the information and content that flows over the infrastructure whether in the form of databases, the written word, a film, a piece of music, a sound recording, a picture, or computer software. It is the computers, televisions, telephones, radios, and other products that people will employ to access the infrastructure. It is the people who will provide, manage, and generate new information, and those that will help others do the same. And, it is the individual Americans who will use and benefit from the NII. The NII is a term that encompasses all these components and captures the vision of a nationwide, invisible, seamless, dynamic web of transmission mechanisms, information appliances, content, and people." From U.S. National Information Infrastructure Advisory Council, Common Ground: Fundamental Principles for the National Information Infrastructure (March 1995) 〈URL gopher://ntiant1.ntia.doc. gov:70/h0/advcouncil/files/commonground.html〉
10. 9. Australia, Victoria, Freedom of Information Act, no. 9859 of 1982.
11. 10. The Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet maintains Information Technology & Telecommunications Policies and Guidelines at 〈URL http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/ocmpol/12a.htm/〉
12. 11. 〈URL http://www.vicnet.net.au/vicnet/it.html/〉
13. 12. The Information Industries Board 〈URL http://courage.cc.uq.oz.au/〉 produced the Queensland Information Technology Industry Strategic Plan (Brisbane: 1992).
14. 13. IT2000 (Adelaide: 1994) 〈URL http://dino.slsa.sa.gov.au/sagov/it2000.htm〉
15. 14. Ipswich City Council 〈URL http://gil/ipswichcity.qld.gov.au/home.html/〉 initiated Global Info-Links 〈URL http://iccub.ipswichcity.qld.gov.au/〉
16. 15. These are the international Open System Interconnection standards under development since 1977 as encompassed in the Australian Government OSI Profile.
17. 16. IESC, an interdepartmental committee comprised of senior officers from six Commonwealth Departments and Agencies, was established in 1985 within the then Commonwealth Public Service Board, and moved to the Department of Finance in 1987 to provide a central body for the coordination of policies and strategies relating to government IT and telecommunications issues, and for promotion of the exchange of information between government agencies.
18. 17. Extracted from: Statement of Direction for Australian GOSIP (Canberra: IESC, 1993).
19. 18. Australia, Information Exchange Steering Committee, Australian Government Guide to Open Systems (Canberra: Department of Finance Information Technology and Systems Group Financial Management Division, July 1993).
20. 19. Tony Barry, Caught in the Web - Australian Government Network Policy (1995) 〈URL http://ningaui. anu.edu.au/CNASI/gov/augov/w5/paper.html〉, draft paper for AUUG '95 and Asia-Pacific World Wide Web '95 Conference and Exhibition, 18-21 September, Sydney 〈URL http://www.csu.edu.au/special/conference/〉
21. 20. All Commonwealth government legislation that is referenced in this document was available in hypertext form from the Australian Legal Information Institute 〈URL http://austlii.law.uts.edu.au/〉 at the time of writing, based on the Commonwealth's Consolidated Acts as at May 1995. It was not certain that these would continue to be updated.
22. 21. Australia, Broadcasting Services Act. 1992 〈URL http://austlii.law.uts.edu.au/au/legis/cth/conso_act/bsa1992214/〉
23. 22. C. Spurgeon and P. Chadwick, Australia in the Information Age (Sydney: Communications Law Centre, 1992).
24. 23. The Broadcasting Act, 1942 from its 1956 amendment was henceforth to be cited as Broadcasting and Television Act, 1942.
25. 24. J. Hawke, "Privatising the Public Interest: The Public and the Broadcasting Services Act 1992," in Public Voices, Private Interests: Australia's Media Policy, eds. J. Craik, J.J. Bailey and A. Moran (St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 1995): 33-50.
26. 25. Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act, no. 6 of 1983 〈URL http://austlii.law.uts.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/abca1983361/〉
27. 26. Australia, Special Broadcasting Service Act. no. 180 of 1991 〈URL http://austlii.law.uts.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/sbsa1991254/〉
28. 27. The Fairfax Group publishes among other things, the long-established broadsheets, the Sydney Morning Herald, and the Age (in Melbourne).
29. 28. M. Armstrong, D. Lindsay, and R. Watteson, Media Law in Australia, 3rd ed. (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1995).
30. 29. Australia, Committee of Inquiry into Telecommunications Services in Australia (Canberra: 1982).
31. 30. Australia, Telecommunications Act, 1991 〈URL http://austlii.law.uts.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol/〉. Telecom had itself been created in 1975 from the division of the former Postmaster General's Department into Telcom and Australia Post, and then merged with the hitherto, separately functioning, OTC Ltd. that provided the country's international communications. It was reconstituted as Telstra 〈URL http://www.telstra.com/〉 under the Telstra Act.
32. 31. Issued as a press release, "A New Era in Telecommuncations" (Canberra: Department of Communications and the Arts, 1995) 〈URL http://www.dca.gov.au/media_files/post97d.htm〉
33. 32. P. Leonard, P. Waters and B. Fisse, "Essential Facilities in Telecommunications, Part 1," Telecommunications Law & Policy Review 3, no. 6 (1995): 56-60.
34. 33. Australia, Radiocommunications Act, 1992 〈URL http://austlii.law.uts.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ra19922181/〉
35. 34. Australia, Archives Act, no. 79 of 1983 〈URL http://austlii.law.uts.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/aa198398/〉
36. 35. Australia, National Library Act, no. 69 of 1960 〈URL http://austlii.law.uts.edu.au/au/legis/cth/ consol_act/nla1960177/〉
37. 36. The Communications Futures Project was initiated within Australia's Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics with the aim of exploring Australia's communications market economics over the decade 1995-2005.
38. 37. Australia, Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics, Communications Futures - Final Report (Canberra: AGPS, 1905) 〈URL http://www.dca.gov.au/comms_project/contents.htm〉
39. 38. Australia, Evidence Act. no. 4 of 1905. 〈URL http://austlii.law.uts.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ea199580/〉
40. 39. Australia, Department of Communications and the Arts, Creative Nation: Commonwealth Cultural Policy (Canberra: October 1994) 〈URL http://www.nla.gov.au/creative.nation/contents.html〉
41. 40. Cutler & Company, Commerce in Content - Building Australia's International Future in Interactive Multimedia Markets: A Report for the Department of Industry, Science and Technology, CSIRO, and the Broadband Services Expert Group (Canberra: September 1994) 〈http://www.nla.gov.au/misc/cutler/cutlercp.html〉
42. 41. Excerpted from Creative Nation 〈URL http://www.nla.gov.au/creative.nation/filmtv.html〉
43. 42. Excerpted from Creative Nation 〈URL http://www.nla.gov.au/creative.nation/multimed.html〉
44. 43. M. Cooper, "The Politics of Culture," Communications Law Bulletin 14, no. 2 (1995): 1-3.
45. 44. Australia, Copyright Act, no. 63 of 1968 〈URL http://austlii.law.uts.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca19681331/〉
46. 45. OLAA is a private company owned by Monash University through which a consortium of nine universities offers courses. Courses in Australian studies presently offered by OLAA have made substantial use of the holdings of national cultural institutions 〈URL http://www.ola.edu.au〉
47. 46. OLTC was established by commonwealth, state and territory Education and Training Ministers 〈URL http://www.oltc.edu.au〉
48. 47. World 1 and National Document & Information Service (NDIS) Project 〈URL http://www.nla.gov.au/2/NDIS〉
49. 48. Australian Archives 〈URL http://www.aa.gov.au〉
50. 49. Australia, Privacy Act, no. 119 of 1988; Australia, Freedom of Information Act, no. 3 of 1982.
51. 49. Australia, Privacy Act, no. 119 of 1988; Australia, Freedom of Information Act, no. 3 of 1982.
52. 50. Australia, Information Exchange Steering Committee Electronic Data Management Subcommittee, Management of Electronic Documents in the Australian Public Service (Canberra: Department of Finance, 1993).
53. 51. Australian Science and Technology Council, The Networked Nation (Canberra: AGPS, 1994) 〈URL http://astec.gov.au/astec/net_nation/contents.html〉
54. 52. Response to the Report of the Australian Science and Technology Council (ASTEC), The Networked Nation (1995) 〈URL http://astec.gov.au/astec/net_nation/response.html〉
55. 53. Australia, Broadband Services Expert Group, Networking Australia's Future: Interim Report (Canberra: July 1994) 〈URL http://www.telstra.com.au/mirror/bseg/start.html〉
56. 54. Australia, Broadband Services Expert Group, Networking Australia's Future: Final Report (Canberra: AGPS, December 1994) 〈URL http://www.dca.gov.au/toc.htm〉
57. 55. 〈URL http://www.dca.gov.au/intro.htm#sar〉
58. 56. 〈URL http://www.dca.gov.au/intro.htm#sar〉
59. 57. 〈URL http://www.dca.gov.au/intro.htm#sar〉
60. 58. 〈URL http://www.dca.gov.au/intro.htm#sar〉
61. 59. 〈URL http://www.dca.gov.au/intro.htm#sar〉
62. 60. 〈URL http://www.dca.gov.au/intro.htm#sar〉
63. 61. Response to the Report. . . (ASTEC)
64. 62. Australia, National Information Services Council, Agenda Papers for the First Meeting of the Council (August 1995) 〈URL http://www.nla.gov.au/pmc/nisc/aug95/nisc1.html〉
65. 63. CSIWP 〈URL http://www.nla.gov.au/finance/csiwp/〉
66. 64. Provision by NLA at 〈URL http://www.nla.gov.au/oz/gov/ozgov.html〉
67. 65. Australian government home page 〈URL http://gov.info.au/〉
68. 66. 〈URL http://www.nla.gov.au/finance/csiwp/guide.html〉
69. 67. Australia, Department of Social Security, CIN: Community Information Network (Canberra: Australian Department of Social Security, 1995) 〈URL http://www.cin.gov.au/〉
70. 68. Australia, Department of Employment Education and Training, Establishment of Education Network Australia (Canberra: Department of Employment Education and Training, June 1995) 〈URL http:// www.deet.gov.au/edna/estbmsg2.htm〉
71. 69. Open Net Pty Ltd - the Education Network for Australia 〈URL http://www.opennet.net.au/OPENNET/company-info.html〉
72. 70. Australia, Information Technology Review Group, Clients First: The Challenge for Government Information Technology - Report of Minister for Finance's Information Technology Review Group (March 1995) 〈URL http://www.nla.gov.au/finance/itreview/final/itrg-tc.html〉
73. 71. 〈URL http://www.nla.gov.au/finance/itreview/final/summary.html〉
74. 72. 〈URL http://www.nla.gov.au/finance/itreview/final/summary.html〉
75. 73. 〈URL http://www.nla.gov.au/finance/itreview/final/summary.html〉
76. 74. 〈URL http://www.nla.gov.au/finance/itreview/final/summary.html〉
77. 75. 〈URL http://www.nla.gov.au/finance/itreview/final/summary.html〉
78. 76. 〈URL http://www.nla.gov.au/finance/itreview/final/summary.html〉
79. 77. Australia, Parliament, House of Representatives, Standing Committee for Long Term Strategies, Australia as an Information Society: Grasping New Paradigms: Government Response (Canberra: AGPS, 1992).
80. 78. Consultation Paper on the Regulation of On-line Information Services (7 July 1995) 〈URL http://www.dca.gov.au/paper_2.html〉
81. 79. Australia, Senate, Select Committee on Community Standards Relevant to the Supply of Services Utilising Electronic Technologies, Report on Regulation of Computer On-line Services, Part 2 (November 1995) 〈URL http://senate.aph.gov.au/committee/csrssuet.rep/report.html〉
82. 80. Further reference to a range of government policy initiatives may be found in: Tony Barry, Australian Government Network Policy: A Bibliography (1995) 〈http://snazzy.anu.edu.au/gov/augov/bibl.html〉