Microsoft Australia Government Affairs Blog

Make a Difference with Web 2.0 and win in NSW apps competition

sassoong — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:23:56 GMT

apps4nsw is a public competition to foster and promote the development of innovative digital applications and web services using public sector data relating to New South Wales.

Individuals and groups can compete for a share in the total prize pool of $100,000!

This prize pool is jointly funded by the Department of Services, Technology and Administration and Industry and Investment NSW.

The competition is now open – take a look at apps4nsw

Technorati Tags: NSW,web2.0,apps,competition

Privacy and Cloud Computing: Microsoft

sassoong — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:22:51 GMT

Yesterday Microsoft released a new position paper titled, Privacy in the Cloud Computing Era: A Microsoft Perspective.

This new paper discusses how Microsoft is approaching privacy as it relates to cloud computing. Cloud-based services are rapidly emerging to complement the traditional client-based model of running software on PCs and servers at home and within the organisation. “Cloud computing” refers to computing capabilities that are provided to organisations that operate over the Internet. Businesses and governments are using “the cloud” to provide more and more services as it allows for greater flexibility, efficiency and lower costs.

From a privacy perspective, a key aspect of cloud computing is the remote storage and processing of personal information with a service provider. Consumers, and more recently organisations, have for some time been using online services that store personal information remotely.

While Microsoft recognises that privacy in the cloud will evolve over time; the paper describes how our underlying privacy principles provide a solid foundation for addressing privacy issues. Microsoft will continue engagement with government, industry, advocates, and other stakeholders on these important matters.

Microsoft Australia will be sponsoring the Australian Privacy Awards which will be taking place next week on 12 November 2009.

Technorati Tags: privacy,cloud computing,personal information

NSW Minister for Commerce visits Microsoft Australia

sassoong — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:21:33 GMT

NSW Minister for Commerce, Jodi McKay (far right) viewing Microsoft Surface Technology

This week, Microsoft Australia welcomed the NSW Minister for Commerce and Tourism, Jodi McKay MP, and the Director General of the NSW Department of Services, Technology and Administration, Graeme Head to North Ryde. The Minister and Director General received a firsthand demonstration of Microsoft Surface technology, among other Microsoft applications. The meeting provided an opportunity to build on the existing partnership between Microsoft Australia and the NSW Government.

Technorati Tags: Jodi McKay,surface,nsw government,commerce

Australian Software Industry Gets Exposure in USA

sassoong — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:10:00 GMT

Microsoft and the Australian Government (Austrade) are joining forces to drive entrepreneurship within the Australian software community and support the development, commercialisation and internationalisation of innovative solutions to address global environmental challenges and opportunities.

As part of this mission, Microsoft is hosting 6 ISV entrepreneur organisations selected for their high potential and global relevance in being able to address critical environmental & sustainability challenges. The delegation includes household Australian names the CSIRO and NICTA as well as innovative research, development and products companies Best Results, Brave Energy, Ideas International and QIT Plus.

Each of delegation will showcase innovative technologies addressing such issues as:

Smart Metering
Water Management
Virtual Power Grid
Disaster Management
Disaster Early Warning Systems

This is the third Microsoft-Austrade delegation to visit Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Seattle, Washington State USA. Each of the delegations receives technology pathway and strategy briefings from relevant Microsoft executives and is able to discuss opportunities to partner with the world’s largest software company in the development of their products and services.

Technorati Tags: environment,australia,austrade,local software economy,trade

Legislative Framework to Address eWaste

sassoong — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:49:29 GMT

Australia’s environment ministers have agreed to a new national policy on waste and resource management.

The historic agreement took place in Perth at the biannual meeting of the Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC).

See the EPHC’s media release here.

Australia’s peak technology body, the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) has responded positively calling the decision “a win for industry, consumers and the environment”. The AIIA’s press release is reproduced below and

Peak technology body applauds national eWaste scheme

For immediate release:

Thursday 5 November, 2009

The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) welcomes the decision announced by Australia’s Environment Ministers through Environmental Protection Heritage Council (EPHC) in Perth today for the creation of a national legislative framework to address eWaste in Australia.

The decision will see the implementation of a consistent national policy regulating the disposal of electronic products in Australia, including computers, monitors and TVs. The new policy will require manufacturers and importers of electronic equipment to join a government-accredited Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO).

Following today’s announcement, AIIA will immediately work with members to establish a PRO that will manage the operational requirements of individual manufacturers in relation to the scheme. In its submission to the EPHC, AIIA has outlined its plans for a PRO that includes an industry-based financing model with a defined scope, timeline and target for setting up a viable takeback program in Australia.

“AIIA and a dedicated group from our membership base have been working towards a comprehensive eWaste scheme in Australia for many years,” said AIIA CEO Ian Birks. “Today’s decision represents a win for industry, consumers and the environment. AIIA and our members fully support this landmark decision and congratulate the Federal and State Environment Ministers on today’s announcement.”

“AIIA views the national eWaste scheme as yet another demonstrable example that our industry takes a highly responsible approach to environment and sustainability issues. The framework supports AIIA’s recommendations and we can now get on with the job of establishing a comprehensive scheme to dispose of end of life computer equipment in a responsible manner,” Mr Birks said.

The EPHC decision will result in the creation of a co-regulatory framework that places a strong emphasis on compliance. Both Government and the information and communication technology (ICT) industry will regulate participation and there will be clear penalties for companies that fail to participate in the scheme.

Based on long-term pilot schemes, previous AIIA submissions have argued that co-regulation and compliance are essential to any successful scheme in Australia. In partnership with a number of key industry brands and the Victorian Government, AIIA has trialled end-to-end computer equipment recycling in Victoria through the Byteback program for over four years.

“The Byteback scheme has provided essential data to support the creation of a national scheme in Australia. It delivered a clear picture of the eWaste stream and demonstrated the detailed requirements for a successful working relationship between government, industry and recyclers,” Mr Birks continued.

“We would like to acknowledge the contributions of the Victorian Government, Apple, Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson, Fujitsu, Fuji-Xerox, HP, IBM, Lenovo and Lexmark for supporting Byteback. We also commend the efforts of the Total Environment Centre and the Boomerang Alliance for their dedication to achieving these outcomes.”

Other issues related to today’s announcement include the opportunity to create efficiencies with related recycling initiatives in Australia.

“The ICT sector has been in close consultation with IT Equipment PROs based in Europe and the TV industry here in Australia. AIIA will continue to work with all parties to deliver the best possible recycling outcomes to the Australian community,” concluded Mr Birks.

Technorati Tags: Environment,AIIA,ewaste,EPHC

United Nations Committee Chair

sassoong — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:29:09 GMT

Microsoft Australia would like to congratulate Professor Ron McCallum AO on his election as the 2010 Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Professor McCallum’s appointment was jointly announced today by the Attorney General, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities.

Professor McCallum has been a vocal advocate for persons with disabilities for decades, and also serves as the Deputy Chair of Vision Australia (the leading provider of blindness and low vision services in Australia), and Professor of Industrial Law at the University of Sydney.

In 2008, Ron was elected as one of twelve members of the first monitoring committee for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and earlier this year was appointed Rapporteur to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

In March this year, Professor McCallum was keynote speaker at Microsoft’s Technology Improving Accessibility Forum.

Technorati Tags: Ron McCallum,United Nations,vision australia,disability

Can software improve the environment?

sassoong — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:25:00 GMT

The ICT industry is one that may not spring to mind when governments, businesses and consumers consider how to positively impact our natural environment, particularly managing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The ICT industry generates about 2% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions* and this is set to grow by at least 6% per year as demand for PC’s and peripherals, data centres and mobile networks increases. Many businesses in the sector are working to address these direct impacts through improved management of their operations. For example, at Microsoft in Australia, we are utilising the power management capabilities of our software, improving the energy efficiencies of our buildings, replacing air travel when possible with Unified Communications, and reducing our waste generation.

While the impact of our operations will require constant vigilance, we are broadening our focus from ‘tidying house’ to better appreciate that the ICT industry as a whole can make a genuine contribution towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions generated outside of the ICT sector. I think this is exciting because it shifts our activities from mitigating our own impacts to creating a positive impact on the environment.

According to the Smart 2020 Report (The Climate Group, 2008), information and communication technologies can facilitate a 15% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. There is great opportunity to realise energy efficiencies in buildings, motors, logistics, transport and power generation. Of course, putting the best software solutions into practice will also require partnerships, political will, behavioural change and the right market forces.

With uncertainty surrounding the ‘teeth’ of the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and the potential of the COP15 Summit in Copenhagen to reach universal agreement and progress, it is refreshing to know that technology can generate practical solutions that will contribute to a lower carbon future.

Susan Vine, Environment and Sustainability Coordinator

* Cited by Gartner - Green IT: The New Industry Shockwave, presentation at Symposium/ITXPO conference, April 2007

Technorati Tags: Environment,Microsoft,Gartner,Carbon Reduction

Tracey Fellows interview with ZDNet.com.au

sassoong — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:13:55 GMT

Following the launch of Windows 7 in Australia, Tracey Fellows, Managing Director of Microsoft Australia was interviewed by ZDNet.com.au, to watch the interview see below:

Technorati Tags: windows7,tracey fellows,zdnet.com.au

One Week To Go for Not – for – Profit Competition

sassoong — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:43:00 GMT

Design by Ben Crothers of Catch Media

Entries for the Not for Profit public sector information category competition of the Government 2.0 Taskforce close THIS FRIDAY – 5 OCTOBER.

The Taskforce is seeking to fast-track the generation of ideas for using public sector data in a not-for-profit setting, and will help the winner turn this idea into a project proposal.

$5,000 will go to a charity/not-for-profit organisation nominated by the person/s selected by the Taskforce as having the best idea(s) for using public sector information in a not-for-profit setting.

In addition the winner(s) (or their nominated not-for-profit organisation) will be provided assistance from Connecting Up Australia to scope their idea as project proposal that the Taskforce can consider funding from the Project Fund.

If you know of a charity/not for profit that could benefit from the release and use of public sector information or you have an idea as to how citizens could benefit from the release of public sector information to the sector then send in your idea BEFORE FRIDAY.

ALSO don't miss your opportunity to vote for the idea you like best. Vote here.

Simon Edwards Head of Government Affairs

Technorati Tags: Government 2.0,competition,prizes,not for profit

Bradfield & Higgins – By-elections for 5 December

sassoong — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:20:22 GMT

The Speaker of the House of Representatives has issued the following press release announcing the by-elections for the Federal seats of Bradfield and Higgins will be on 5 December, 2009.

Microsoft has had over many years a courteous professional relationship with both of the retiring former Ministers and wishes them and their families well for the future.

Issued by: House of Representatives Liaison & Projects Office, Monday 26 October 2009

BY-ELECTIONS FOR BRADFIELD AND HIGGINS

The Speaker of the House of Representatives Harry Jenkins MP issued the following statement:

On 19 October 2009 I informed the House that I had received a letter from the Hon. Dr Brendan Nelson resigning his seat as the Member for the Electoral Division of Bradfield; and that I had received a letter from the Hon. Peter Costello resigning his seat as the Member for the Electoral Division of Higgins.

I have since consulted with Party Leaders and the independent Members in relation to the subsequent by-elections.

I have informed the House today that it is my intention to issue a writ on Friday 30 October 2009 for the election of a Member to serve for the Electoral Division of Bradfield to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of the Hon. Dr Brendan Nelson.

It is also my intention to issue a writ on Friday 30 October 2009 for the election of a Member to serve for the Electoral Division of Higgins to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of the Hon. Peter Costello.

The dates in connection with the two by-elections will be fixed as follows:

Issue of writs Friday, 30 October 2009

Close of rolls Monday, 9 November 2009

Date of nominations Thursday, 12 November 2009

Declaration of nominations Friday, 13 November 2009

Date of polling Saturday, 5 December 2009

Return of writs On or before Monday,

8 February 2010.

Contact: Speaker’s Office, Canberra 02 6277 4000

Issued by:

Andrew Dawson, media manager, Liaison & Projects Office, House of Representatives Tel: (02) 6277 2063 wk, 0401 143 724 mob.

Queensland invention keeps a healthy eye on waterways

sassoong — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:16:31 GMT

South-east Queenslanders will have unprecedented access to detailed data showing the health of their waterways, following today’s launch of the 2009 Ecosystem Health Report Card.

Thanks to a new state-of-the-art data integration system known as Health-e-Waterways, current and historical Ecosystem Health Report Card grades for catchments, estuaries and bay zones are just a few key strokes away.

Health-e-Waterways, a Queensland Government-funded research project involving The University of Queensland (UQ), Microsoft Research and the South East Queensland Healthy Waterways Partnership, has been applied for the first time to the 2009 Report Card.

Health-e-Waterways gathers together information from water databases held by a variety of government agencies and research organisations and makes it readily accessible through a single online portal that can be accessed at: www.health-e-waterways.org.

The new system enables next-generation water management by harnessing the power of the Internet to search, analyse, interpret and communicate waterways information. In particular, scientists, policy makers and natural resource managers will be able to obtain a more accurate and timely understanding of problem sites and causes. Data analysis tools will also enable water resource managers to quickly adapt management strategies in response to changes observed in the catchment areas and waterways.

Health-e-Waterways also provides an interactive map interface which enables users to access visualizations of the Report Card data through eco-health plots and site photos. The interface allows panning, zooming and animations that visualise changes in waterway health across regions and time.

“Health-e-Waterways shows how teamwork between UQ, industry – in this case Microsoft Research – grassroots organisations and government can empower communities with access to new levels of knowledge,” said Professor Paul Greenfield, UQ Vice-Chancellor and Chair of the Healthy Waterways Scientific Expert Panel.

“Around the world, and particularly in Australia, there’s an incredible amount of focus on how humankind can better manage its impact on the environment,” said John Warren, University Relations Manager, Microsoft Research Asia.

“Part of the solution is to gain a better understanding of the changes that are occurring in the environment. There is a massive amount of monitoring data being collected and Health-e-Waterways provides a high-tech approach to turning that data into meaningful information. This information can then be used by scientists and policy makers to enhance the management of Queensland waterways.”

Professor Jane Hunter, Director of UQ’s e-Research Lab and project leader, said the Report Card is only the first application of the underlying software.

“Down the track the project will provide customised water information management and reporting services to other regions in Australia and internationally,” Professor Hunter said.

Due to climate change, urban development and population growth, recent years have seen large investments in Queensland's water infrastructure. This has created a need for sophisticated technological solutions to allow scientists, urban planners and policy makers to track water movement, consumption and quality across the entire cycle.

The Health-e-Waterways project will develop the underlying cyber-infrastructure required to address new management and decision-making challenges concerning Queensland's waterways. In particular, it will enable and promote the sharing, integration and analysis of high quality water information across all stakeholders – including government, local councils, scientists, community groups and the general public.

Technorati Tags: e-waterways,health,water management,environment

Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2010

sassoong — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:36:00 GMT

Gartner, Inc. analysts have highlighted their top 10 technologies and trends which they expect to be strategic for most organisations in 2010.

Gartner defines a strategic technology as one with the potential for significant impact on the enterprise in the next three years

With respect to the use of information technology as an aid to supporting good environmental outcomes Gartner states:

IT can enable many green initiatives. The use of IT, particularly among the white collar staff, can greatly enhance an enterprise’s green credentials. Common green initiatives include the use of e-documents, reducing travel and teleworking. IT can also provide the analytic tools that others in the enterprise may use to reduce energy consumption in the transportation of goods or other carbon management activities.

This concise analysis undoubtedly understates the potential and necessity of IT to contribute to good environmental outcomes at the enterprise level.

It does not refer to the fact that the development of all the technologies that will move our national, commercial and social economic infrastructures away from unsustainable greenhouse gas emitting energy production will require extensive contribution from IT – from initial research to ultimate monitoring, information processing and response.

For this reason alone Government and private industry investment in ‘Green IT’ is a strategic technology and a human necessity.

Take a look at the Gartner research to see what other technologies they consider strategic for enterprises in 2010.

Technorati Tags: Environment,Green IT,Gartner,future

First year celebration of Collingwood project

sassoong — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:01:21 GMT

Congratulations to Infoxchange Australia as they celebrated last week, the 1st year of Wired Community@Collingwood, the largest grassroots digital inclusion project in Australia.

The project focuses on the residents of 1000 households in three high rise buildings and low rise properties on the Collingwood Public housing Estate. By providing a PC and appropriate training to each resident, the project allows access to a computer in their own home with support and training needed to use it, the project has ensured that the community intranet has a range of accessible, relevant material available to the residents of the estate.

Speaking at the celebration, Paul Clark, Microsoft’s Community Affairs Manager said: “for many, obtaining basic digital skills is a major obstacle to 21^st century learning. For many reasons, many people simply haven’t the skills to use computers or have access to affordable technology. And with social inclusion and digital inclusion increasingly synonymous, at Microsoft we are proud to support a project that sees technology being an enabler of opportunity not a barrier.”

Guest speakers included the Hon Richard Wynn Minister for Housing and Local Government & Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Mr Paul Clark, Microsoft’s Community Affairs Manager and Infoxchange’s Executive Director Andrew Mahar.

A video about Infoxchange Australia:

Technorati Tags: Infoxchange,social inclusion,digital economy,Collingwood

When it comes to cybercrime, we need a ‘digital ready’ society

sassoong — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:04:35 GMT

There are four things about the Internet that make it a great place to commit crimes:

1. It is globally connected;

2. It is relatively anonymous;

3. There is a relative lack of traceability, and;

4. There are really rich targets – financial data, personally identifiable information, military information, business information.

So, last Friday, when Microsoft presented at a public hearing for the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications’ Inquiry in Cybercrime, we stated that alongside the incredible advances from technology comes in inevitable increase in the level of risk to individuals, business and governments.

We outlined in our testimony that the rapid advances in software, IT services and communications have enabled many traditionally separate and disparate infrastructures and business operations to become more connected and therefore more vulnerable to online crime and sophisticated cyber attacks.

What makes this scenario so daunting is global connectivity is going to continue to grow.

Here in Australia, the advent of a National Broadband Network (NBN) will spark not only a new age of communication and technology access, it will usher in a new digital economy, where governments, business and citizens will have access anywhere through ubiquitous broadband and an ever increasing array of connected devices. Indeed, we submitted that the NBN is not so much an infrastructure and communication investment, but is a major social and economic shift for the nation.

As important as the physical roll out and deployment will be, what the NBN requires is a whole-of-community change management focus to ensure we empower citizens to be ‘digital ready’ for the changes to come.

With broadband to become the dominant platform on which we transact our lives, the role for government policy, industry collaboration and community education could not be more important in building security, safety and trust into the design of the network. The NBN will change the way we live work and play and, if Microsoft’s vision of cloud computing is right, there will be more rich targets online as more and more people do more and more things in the cloud.

So, if local, national and global connectivity is going to continue to grow along with more and more rich targets, what are we going to do about cybercrime? In our view, there are four key recommendations. They are:

1. The need for a comprehensive and coordinated national strategy around cybercrime as well as greater Government-to-Government collaboration on cross-jurisdictional crime.

2. A better understanding of the threat landscape and to evolve and focus the public-private partnership model as well as international collaboration.

3. Consider a legislative model designed to ensure that greater regulation, if enacted, protects innovation while providing appropriate government oversight of cyber security issues.

4. Finally, the Internet needs an appropriately deployed identity meta-system if we are to make the Internet dramatically more secure but protect important social values, such as privacy and free speech.

For more information on our recommendations or a copy of the white paper we tabled on ‘End to End Trust’ go to http://www.microsoft.com/australia/government/publicaffairs/resources.mspx

John Galligan, Director, Corporate Affairs & Citizenship

Technorati Tags: cybercrime,standing committee,NBN,broadband

Not For Profit Focus for Gov 2.0

sassoong — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:39:00 GMT

Design by Ben Crothers of Catch Media

The Government 2.0 Taskforce has decided to run a contest to fast-track the generation of ideas for using public sector data in a not-for-profit setting, and to help the winner turn this idea into a project proposal.

The Taskforce will award a $5,000 cash donation to a charity/not-for-profit organisation of the winner’s choice. The winner will be the person/organisation that suggests the best idea(s) for using public sector information in a not for profit setting. The winner(s) (or their nominated not-for-profit organisation) will also be provided assistance from Connecting Up Australia to scope their idea as a project proposal that the Taskforce can consider funding from the Microsoft supported Project Fund.

Entries for the competition are due by 5pm, Friday October 30.

Technorati Tags: Government 2.0,competition,microsoft,taskforce,not for profit