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The federal Government has a strong mandate to introduce individual e-health records for Australians, a consumer poll on behalf of the National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) has found.

The survey of 2700 people conducted by UMR Research found that 9 of 10 respondents in all states want the Commonwealth to manage the deployment and operation of an e-health record system. The same proportion supported the introduction of new privacy laws to increase protection of personal medical information.

The New South Wales Government says a new program will help small and remote communities on the north coast get high-speed broadband internet access.

The Minister for Rural Development, Phillip Costa, says more than $11 million will be provided over the next five years to service communities not covered by the national broadband network.

The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, today officially launched the Noosa Clever Networks (Cooroy Knowledge Precinct) project.

“This project is well aligned with the Rudd Government’s vision for Australia’s digital future,” Senator Conroy said.

The federal Health Department has once again underspent its e-health implementation budget, spending only $42.5 million out of $53.8 million allocated for 2007-08.

Spending on e-health had crashed during the previous year, with $41.5 million left unspent out of $79 million allocated to national projects, including the now defunct HealthConnect.

But even the heavily trimmed allocation for the past financial year was underspent by $11.2 million, the Department's annual report reveals.

The New South Wales government has plans to consolidate its 130 data centres into two facilities in a bid to cut down on maintenance costs and energy consumption, according to the state’s CIO Emmanuel Rodriguez.

The procurement process will kick-off at the end of 2009, with work set to begin in mid 2011.

“We have over 130 data centres and migration will probably take about 10 years because there are many factors to consider including energy requirements,” said Rodriguez.