By Freya Purnell
The Western Australian Government will appoint its first Government Chief Information Officer as part of an initiative to take a more coordinated approach to ICT and make major cost savings across the government.
The announcement was made by WA Premier Colin Barnett and Finance Minister Bill Marmion (pictured).
“With a spend of at least $1 billion a year on ICT, there needs to be better coordination, consolidation and prioritisation of these resources across State Government,” the Premier said.
“The delivery of ICT services in Government has not always been as efficient and effective as it might have been. Information Communications Technology reform will drive innovation, improve the way we deliver services to the community and deliver better value for the taxpayer.”
A $25 million ICT Renewal and Reform Fund will also be established to support government agencies with specific ICT reforms. The fund will be created from targeted reductions in general government agencies’ ICT expenditure, which are estimated to generate net savings of $85 million after the establishment of the fund.
Initially, the CIO’s role will focus on cutting the cost of ICT across government and enhancing transparency in the delivery of major projects, with an ICT reform plan to be developed over 12 months to support this strategic direction.
Minister Marmion said benchmarking of ICT spend compared to other jurisdictions would identify areas of excellence and opportunities to enhance agency decision-making, rationalise investment and remove duplication.
“We are well-positioned to learn from the experience of other States and from overseas, which has shown that the strongest ICT reform comes from having a broad approach right across government,” Marmion said.
The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer will be set up by July 2015 under the Department of Finance.
