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'Smart card' task force head resignsis followed by
ABC News Online: Monday, May 8, 2006.
The Federal Opposition has demanded an explanation from the Government over the resignation of the head of the "smart card" technology task force.James Kelaher says he resigned over his concerns about the way the billion-dollar project will be run.
...
Foreign experts to take on smart card projectColour me not surprised ... after all, it's not as though we don't have any experts of our own, now do we. (Because we most certainly do.)
ABC News Online: Monday, May 8, 2006.
Federal Minister for Human Services Joe Hockey says overseas specialists will be brought in to help the Government tackle the "smart card" project.The head of the smart card task force, James Kelaher, has resigned after raising concerns that a separate authority is not being set up to oversee the project.
Mr Kelaher, a smart card supporter, believes the Government should seek independent expert advice on security and privacy.
Mr Hockey says Mr Kelaher could not commit to the project for the long-term.
"The bottom line is this, that I want people committed to the duration of the project," he said.
"It's important to have people who may not have conflicts of interest, or will not have conflicts of interest, and this project is far more significant for Australia than any one individual, including the Minister."
Mr Kelaher says he resigned over his concerns about the way the billion-dollar project will be run.
He says he urged Mr Hockey to reconsider his views on how the high-tech project should proceed.
"I feel quite strongly that a project like this, that isn't set up for success for the outset, is really going to struggle and because I'm a strong believer in this project and many of our stakeholders are, I don't want to see them disappointed," he said.
Consider this in the same context:
Report criticises Australian IT buyers' cultural cringe
Graeme Philipson
smh.com.au: May 2, 2006
Home-grown technology can vie with its international competitors - it's local attitudes that must change.Last month in these pages I wrote about how Australian software companies are vastly underrated in their own country. My comments were largely directed at state governments' failure to use software developed at home, preferring the option of better-known products from large, multinational companies, despite that software often being inferior and more expensive.
There is a technology cultural cringe in Australia, and it's not restricted to government - in the IT industry it's across the board.
..."The Australian software industry needs local demand from lead customers investing collaboratively in lead projects," the report says. In other words, big local companies and government users should show the way and buy Australian. But this is not happening.
The report is available at http://www.dcita.gov.au/ict (under"research"). It is an invaluable contribution to the debate.
The unfortunate thing is that it is likely to remain as unknown as the companies it describes.
pissed off
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200605/s1633664.htm
He's been out of the limelight for some time, I think he should get interviewed more often, might turn a few voters off Howard if they knew the
real facts about the real national debt!
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[http://www.smh.com.au/news/chatroom/a-happy-association/2006/05/01/1146335641194.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1]
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And as far as the government (state or federal) is concerned, an expert can only be someone from overseas with a briefcase. Hence we have expensive blowouts on "consultants." The Health Commision ordained report on Hospital Services a decade ago was so expensive that Flinders Medical Centre technically went broke funding it's share of it (and it had no choice in the matter). It included such junkets as monthly trips back to the US and weekly trips back to Melbourne for the consultants. And for the RAH, they basically added their cover to an internally funded report by a local management consultancy...
Sorry for being vehement, but I've worked on too many teams that had to fight uphill to get their products recognised locally, but which were eagerly sought after overseas. In fact it was easier for me to work in Europe as a troubleshooter than locally. <sigh>
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Go ahead - be vehement - I blog for discussion and debate at least as much as to relieve bouts of boredom.
I've experienced this very same kind of stupidity time and time again. And being somewhat desperate for 'eating' money, I've done some of the dirty clean up work. And been paid a pittance to do it (in real and relative terms).
This is exactly the kind of thing that has me thinking PhD.
Mike Metcalfe at UniSA wants me to give him a topic that pisses me off so much that I can't help but finish the thesis.
There's just so many options. Which one to do as my thesis, and which ones to take potshots at in papers? That is my dilemma right now.
I'm going to situate myself in Academia now. At least there it's not unusual to wave your arms about in disgust, and write a paper or two ... At worst I can be written off as an irrelevant ivory tower looney. But I just might make a difference if I mumble on long enough.