The Government 2.0 Taskforce released its draft report today on using technology to open up public sector information, recommending that agencies be judged on their ability to release public sector information.
The Federal Government 2.0 Taskforce released its draft report today on using technology to open up public sector information, recommending that agencies be judged on their ability to release public sector information.
Public sector information is a national resource and that releasing as
much of it on as permissive terms as possible will maximise its economic and social value and reinforce a healthy democracy.
Federal Government 2.0 Taskforce draft report
The report has been released for public comment until 16
December. The comment will be included in the final report to be
completed by the end of the year when the taskforce finishes.
The central recommendation in the draft report was that the
government should make a declaration which recognises that "public
sector information is a national resource and that releasing as
much of it on as permissive terms as possible will maximise its
economic and social value and reinforce a healthy democracy".
With a few exceptions, public service information should be, according to the
taskforce, free, based on open standards, easily discoverable,
understandable, machine-readable and freely reusable. The goal was to
change crown copyright into creative commons licences which invite others to quote, share and transform them without seeking government permission. The report also recommended that the privacy
commissioner should develop guidelines for the de-identification of data to protect privacy.
The taskforce believed that Australia's approach to government
2.0 had been hampered by the fragmented direction different
governments and agencies had taken. The report said that a lead
agency should be put in charge of government 2.0 and that a work
program should be developed by a steering committee made up of the
department of Prime Minister and Cabinet; the new Office of the
Information Commissioner; the Department of Finance and
Deregulation; the Australian Public Service Commission; the
National Archives of Australia; the Australian Bureau of
Statistics; and the Department of Broadband, Communications and the
Digital Economy.
Agencies would be "required" to engage online. The report
recommended that, within 12 months of the government's response to
the report, all major agencies identify the barriers within their
organisation which inhibit online engagement and develop plans to
reduce the impact of the barriers. The agencies would nominate
projects to further their opening up of public information.
The report suggested that their progress be made public in the
Australian Public Service Commission's annual state of the service
report and that the agencies be required to report their
performance in their annual reports.
Awards for agencies or individuals that did good work in the
sector were ideal for fostering the right environment for open
public sector information, according to the taskforce.
"Reservoirs of experience and ideas already exist within the public
and private sectors and we want to be able to tap into those to achieve
more inclusive, open and effective government," Finance Minister Lindsey Tanner,
who started the taskforce back in June, said in a statement.