Speaking at the launch of the South East Asian Regional Computer Confederation (SEARCC) conference in Sydney, Special Minister of State Senator Eric Abetz said that the government was working on a number of initiatives that could involve the use of so-called "smartcards". For example it is possible that all Australian Government public servants will soon carry a standard card of some type, perhaps using smart chip technology, to replace the plethora of identification tokens that currently exist across the public service," he said.
Senator Abetz said that he and Minister for Human Services Joe Hockey were working "to realise that potential in the area of government service delivery", saying more details would be made public in the next few months.
The Department of Human Services and AGIMO (the Australian Government Information Management Office) are collaborating to develop these plans", Senator Abetz said.
Smartcards could also have applications in areas such as healthcare and to combat identity theft, he said.
Senator Abetz said he would detail more of the government's plans as its overall e-Government strategy was finalised.
Autor: Chris Jenkins
Quelle: Australian IT, 28.09.2005
