Queensland Premier, the Hon Anna Bligh MP, last week confirmed the state’s commitment to information communication technology (ICT) and its transformational role in both the Queensland economy and the culture of government.

Premier Bligh delivered her views to over 900 industry representatives at a luncheon co-hosted by the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) and the Australian Computer Society in Brisbane on Thursday June 26.

Through the Smart State Strategy 2008-12, Queensland has articulated a vision for the future where ‘knowledge, creativity and innovation drive economic growth to improve prosperity and quality of life,’ and aims to ‘develop into a knowledge-based economy’ to deliver this prosperity.

‘We are about to embark on a journey which will require us to fundamentally rethink the way we approach ICT in government,’ said Ms Bligh. ‘I want a genuine partnership with the ICT industry that helps the government be more effective and helps the industry to grow.’

In delivering her vision for the future, Ms Bligh identified eight areas for improvement in the government’s approach to ICT. Included were removing uncertainty in ICT spending projections; requiring agencies to obtain external strategy advice on business cases and specifications; investment in ICT innovation; reducing the cost of doing business with government; and increasing the Queensland Government’s overall spend on ICT.

‘Addressing these issues will be of great benefit to Queensland’s aspirations as a state and I am very pleased to hear them raised in this context,’ said AIIA CEO Ian Birks.

‘AIIA’s Queensland Branch has a history of strong engagement with the state government, and it’s great to now see the government engaging with the issues at this level. The Premier has demonstrated that not only does Queensland recognise ICT’s critical role in strong economic performance, but that the government is listening to and will work closely with the industry to achieve their aims.’

The role identified for ICT in Queensland goes beyond the commonly held view of ICT as an enabler to solutions for current problems to recognition of ICT’s transformational power across all areas of the economy and community.

‘The work of the Queensland Government recognises the significant transformation our economy must undertake, and specifically the importance of innovation and a strong knowledge-based economy,’ said AIIA Chairman John Grant.

‘The underlying infrastructure for this innovation and transformation will be the widespread and skilful deployment of information and communication technologies in government and business,’ Mr Grant continued.

‘ICT infrastructure is the primary infrastructure of the future… getting this right has the capacity to assist in the complete transformation of the way the government serves a community,’ concluded Premier Bligh in her address.