Government online and on track

(EDS: with speech "E-government delivers quality service to the public" to the PSSM conference.)

The first comprehensive review of the government’s online presence has been completed and the results are encouraging, State Services Minister Trevor Mallard said today.

Trevor Mallard released the report, Achieving e-government 2004: A report on progress toward the E-government Strategy, at the Public Service Senior Management Conference in Wellington today.

“The State Services Commission’s E-government Unit has conducted a thorough review of more than 100 government websites as part of its assessment of the progress of the New Zealand e-government programme. I’m pleased to say that overall, we have largely achieved the 2004 mission set out three years ago in the e-government strategy.

"Across the board, government departments are making good progress towards e-government goals, and that's great to see. Our government is committed to strengthening public services for New Zealanders, and having quality online public services is part of that,” Trevor Mallard said.

"The review includes a formal assessment of these websites, analysis of agencies’ use of the internet and networks, and commissioning of surveys to measure the demand for e-government.

“The websites of 39 government agencies were assessed, and 26 were of either ‘high’ or ‘good’ standard. In total, more than 65 per cent of the assessed government websites are performing commendably.

“New Zealanders are internet savvy by world standards and expect that government information and services will be delivered online and to a high standard. This report shows that their expectations are being met,” Trevor Mallard said.

Trevor Mallard said there are many examples of innovation where electronic services are making contact with government services quicker and more convenient, for example:

Worksite/PaeMahi ( http://www.worksite.govt.nz) is a multi-agency portal that is a one-stop shop for everything you want to know about employment and training in New Zealand.

The portal includes links to career planning tools, job vacancies, current skills shortages and access to calculators for student loan repayments or ACC levies.

The New Zealand Customs Service now enables export entries to be completed online.

The Ministry of Economic Development is providing some database access through mobile phone text messaging services.

For example, New Zealanders can now check whether or not money is owed on a motor vehicle simply through texting.

“As well as the continued development of electronic services, the internet has significantly increased opportunities for people to participate in government.

“New Zealanders can now access many government documents online, complete submissions, find contact information for their MP’s and follow Parliamentary debates by reading Hansard online.

“This is the point of e-government: to make government information and services more accessible, available around the clock and from anywhere there is an internet connection,” Trevor Mallard said.

As of June 2004, the ‘front door’ to government online, http://www.govt.nz, provided round the clock direct access to over 300 agencies and 1500 services. The report "Achieving e-government 2004" is on http://www.e.govt.nz/docs/ready-access-2004/index.html

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