Both Australia and New Zealand recorded high levels of people using government services online, although they were outstripped in that area by the Scandinavian countries, according to a government online survey by market research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS). The TNS survey showed that New Zealand continued to have the highest level of internet penetration among the 32 countries surveyed.
Seventy five per cent of the 1000 New Zealanders surveyed in August had used the internet in the previous month, up from 71 per cent in the 2002 survey.
Australia came in at number eight in terms of internet usage, with 64 per cent of the population going online.
TNS surveyed 32,000 adults in 32 countries to determine their use of government online services.
Denmark had the highest level of government online usage at 63 per cent, while the level of uptake in Bulgaria was only one per cent.
Australia and New Zealand came in eighth and ninth respectively in terms of government online usage, ranking behind countries such as Norway, Finland, Singapore and the Netherlands.
But Australia's 47 per cent and New Zealand's 45 per cent of the population who had used government online services in the previous year still beat the United States (44 per cent) and Hong Kong (43 per cent).
TNS said that while government online use in Australia remained relatively stable from 2002, there was some change in the services used by Australians with 29 per cent taking up interactive services such as consulting, providing information to government and transacting.
TNS said this was further evidence of trends such as the maturation of Australians' use of online exchange and a reflection of a government focus on encouraging interactive exchanges online.
More New Zealanders were using e-government services such as getting exam results and paying GST, at 45 per cent compared to 40 per cent in 2002, which TNS said was likely because of a wider awareness of government online coupled with the further development of online services.
"While the uptake of e-government services has slowed in Australia, the rate of increase in the use of services that involve the public interacting with government over the internet suggest that fears of transferring personal information using this medium have lessened," TNS director Alison Dexter said.
"This is backed up by significant increases in the public's perception of safety."
Quelle: Sydney Morning Harald, 09.12.2003
