Abbott just doesn’t get the NBN, says Gillard
Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday morning accused Opposition Leader Tony Abbott of not understanding the technology behind the National Broadband Network, as the fibre-based project was formally launched on the mainland in the Northern NSW city of Armidale.
Telstra’s structural separation: It’s here
Depending on who you talk to, it's been coming since deregulation in 1997. Yesterday Communications Minister Stephen Conroy released draft versions of the regulatory instruments through which Telstra will be forced to structurally separate its operations into different whole and retail divisions, a process which will likely mainly be achieved though the rollout of the National Broadband Network.
Foxtel on T-Box lands 27 June
Telstra's T-Box IPTV set-top box will receive a fresh injection of content next week, with the telco revealing today that significant amounts of content from its Foxtel pay TV joint venture would be available on the T-Box from 27 June.
IT’S DONE: Telstra inks $11bn NBN deal
As expected, Telstra this morning revealed it had signed what it described as 'Definitive Agreements' with NBN Co and the Federal Government which will make its infrastructure available to the fledgling broadband company and its customers progressively migrated onto the growing NBN fibre network over the next decade, at a cost to NBN Co of $11 billion.
NBN: Optus migrates HFC users for $800m
Not content to be left out of the limelight by big brother Telstra, the nation's number two telco Optus has also this morning announced a significant deal with NBN Co, with the arrangement to see parts of its HFC network shuttered and its customers progressively migrated onto the fibre NBN infrastructure at a total cost to NBN Co of $800 million.
Gillard’s ‘rip it out’ claims ludicrous, says Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has described claims by Prime Minister Julia Gillard this morning that a Coalition Government would "dig up" NBN optic fibre out of the ground instead of using it as "ludicrous" and "false".
Victoria slams ‘risky, uncompetitive’ NBN policy
Victoria's Coalition State Government has heavily criticised the Labor Federal Government's flagship National Broadband Network policy, arguing in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the NBN that the project could see the telecommunications sector's existing "dysfunctional" market structure replicated and competition put at risk.
Telstra lodges separation plan with ACCC
The nation's largest telco Telstra has filed two key documents with the national competition regulator which will pave the way for the final conclusive step in its decades-long journey from Australia's telecommunications monopolist to an equal player in the telco landscape.
New Coalition NBN policy: Splitting Telstra, using HFC
The Federal Coalition has proposed a new National Broadband Network policy which would see Australia provided with broadband through a combination of developed HFC cable in urban areas, splitting up Telstra into wholesale and retail arms to serve suburban and regional areas, and wireless and satellite solutions to serve the rest of Australia in remote regions.
Win govt, telcos tell Turnbull: Then we’ll talk
The chief executives of Australia's top two telcos Telstra and Optus today acknowledged the existence of the Coalition's new telecommunications policy unveiled last week -- but judging from their responses, it may take another election before they start to take it seriously.
NBN Co acknowledges wireless competition threat
The National Broadband Network Company has included a lengthy section in its submission to the national competition regulator regarding Telstra's structural separation undertaking dealing with wireless and mobile broadband technology and its potential to compete with the predominantly fibre-based NBN rollout.
Telstra approached Dodo about reselling Next G
National broadband provider Dodo today revealed Telstra had spoken to it about selling services over its flagship Next G mobile network, in the latest sign that the nation's largest telco is thinking about opening up its prize asset for competitive use.
Fix your separation plan, ACCC tells Telstra
The competition regulator has asked Telstra to make several key changes to its plan to structurally separate its operations and migrate its customers onto the NBN, with the regulator being particularly concerned about the telco's commitment to providing the same services to its wholesale customers as it does its own retail arm.
Bad Telstra vote could help scuttle the NBN
An independent expert's commissioned by Telstra has found overwhelming benefits to the telco from cooperating with the Government's flagship National Broadband Network plan, but has also highlighted the potential for a shareholder vote against a Telstra deal with NBN Co to help cause the termination of the project.
Turnbull’s biggest problem: How to halt the NBN
A senior telecommunications analyst has praised the Coalition's new telecommunications policy as being worthy of respect, while warning the fallout from its commitment to halting Labor's flagship National Broadband Network project would remain its biggest problem if it took Government in the next Federal Election.
Telstra revamp features 500GB broadband plan
The nation's biggest telco Telstra has overhauled its fixed and mobile broadband plan structure, giving customers substantial extra monthly download quota and launching a new 500GB plan that more than doubles the previous limit customers could use per month.
FTTN would be “a litigator’s picnic”, says Optus
The nation's number two telco Optus has described the proposed process of getting Telstra to give up part of its copper network for a fibre to the node upgrade as "a litigator's picnic", due to the complex legal issues around compensation for the telco handing over its property.
Telstra slashes 200GB HFC cable plan by $20
The nation's largest telco Telstra has temporarily cut $60 a month from one of its most popular HFC cable broadband offers, in a move which brings the monthly cost of its 200GB broadband bundle down from $139 per month to just $78.
Telstra addresses SSU complaints
Telstra today released a lengthy document to the Australian Stock Exchange (available here in PDF form) detailing possible responses to complaints by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and other telcos to its Structure Separation Undertaking (SSU).
NBN Co already acting like a monopoly, says Optus
Optus chief executive Paul O'Sullivan has accused NBN Co of attempts to cement its monopoly over the telco sector that "would make a Telstra executive blush", in a fiery speech in Sydney this afternoon in which he also opened fire on traditional Optus target Telstra and even the Federal Opposition.
HP layoffs likely to hit Australia
Technology giant HP this morning said it expected its massive global job cuts -- which are expected to see some 27,000 employees exit the company -- to affect all of its regions across the world, with the implication that Australia will not be left off the list of locations to receive retrenchment targets.
Amazon puts Aussie face on global Kindle store
Online retailer Amazon this morning revealed it had formally launched an Australian version of its popular online bookstore, putting a formal face on a service which millions of Australians have already been accessing for years and further supporting Australian authors to sell their books online locally.
Amazon extends Sydney datacentre offerings
Cloud computing giant Amazon Web Services has launched several new services through its Sydney datacentre previously only available from international facilities, giving Australian customers access to a low-cost storage service designed for long-term backup, as well as a fast data warehouse service.
Amazon claims huge Australian growth as dedicated local support launches
The cloud computing branch of online retailer Amazon late last month claimed it was seeing rapid uptake from the launch of its first Australia-based datacentre; simultaneously announcing the launch of a dedicated support centre based in Australia to serve local customers.
Amazon Appstore challenging Google Play as Australian launch looms
Australian Android users will soon have an alternative source for sourcing paid and free mobile apps, but will they embrace it? Yes, if the first analysis of Amazon Appstore sales figures – which suggests the site is rapidly increasing its appeal to US consumers as a source of paid apps – is any indication.
Finally, Amazon launches Sydney datacentre
After six months of rumours and the launch of several ancillary services down under, US cloud computing giant Amazon Web Services has finally announced the availability of locally-hosted cloud computing services from an Australian datacentre; with prices comparable to those seen overseas.
Turnbull concerned by Google, Amazon tax offshoring
International technology companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon may not be paying their fair share of Australian tax, Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said this week, with local tax laws not having caught up yet with the challenges of the digital environment.
Amazon mulls Aussie distribution centre
According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, giant international Internet retailer and cloud computing giant Amazon is considering deploying a distribution centre -- Amazon-speak for giant warehouse filled with goods to ship to customers -- in Australia.
Delimiter is giving away an Amazon Kindle Fire
Yup, you read the headline correctly. We've had a spare Amazon Kindle Fire sitting around the Delimiter HQ since we imported it in November for our Australian review. Now it's time to give this sweet little tablet away to a lucky reader.
Amazon hiring Sydney datacentre manager
Cloud computing giant Amazon has advertised more than a half dozen new positions as it ramps up its operations in Australia, including a role for a Sydney-based datacentre operations manager, which will re-kindle speculation the company wants to roll out infrastructure locally.
Amazon bugs persist for Aussie Android dev
Australian development firm Shifty Jelly has delivered another embarassing backhander to global technology giant Amazon over the company's handling of its Android applications store, listing a litany of bugs and customer service issues regarding the platform.
Not happy, Amazon: Aussie developer slams app store
Australian development firm Shifty Jelly has delivered harsh words to Amazon over the company's relatively new Android Appstore and its Free App Of The Day promotion.
Patriot Act applies to Amazon Australia, warns Ninefold
Australian cloud computing specialist Ninefold has warned that any datacentre set up by global rival Amazon Web Services in Australia would still be subject to US legislation, despite being located in a different jurisdiction.
Amazon opens Australian office
Global cloud computing and retail giant Amazon today told customers it had opened an Australian office with dedicated local staff to service the cloud computing market, as speculation continues to swirl that the company will also establish a new local datacentre facility to meet customer demand.
Amazon planning Australian datacentre: Report
Amazon's Web Services cloud computing division is planning to open a new datacentre hosted in Australia next year, according to an article published in the Australian newspaper this morning.
Amazon CTO hits Australia in cloud push
The chief technology officer of global retailer and technology giant Amazon has scheduled in a trip to Australia in mid-July to spruik the company's cloud computing offerings, as interest in the burgeoning field of online cloud platforms continues to boom.
Amazon’s Android Appstore is US-only
Web services and e-commerce giant Amazon has limited its mobile app store launched overnight to use by United States customers only, and has placed tax restrictions on international developers selling their software through the new platform.
Parliament launches cross-party ‘Friends of the Internet’ Group
Politicians from Liberal, Labor and Greens political parties yesterday banded together to launch a cross-party Friends of the Internet group within the Federal Parliament, pledging to support the development, innovation and use of the world’s most ubiquitous technology platform, despite the diverse political views their own parties hold about it.
Commission of Audit recommends “transformative” chief digital officer
The new Coalition Government's Commission of Audit (CoA) has strongly recommended the Federal Government adopt a "transformative" strategy to make all its interactions with Australians online by default, with a new chief digital officer to spearhead the strategy and report to Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Dropbox opens Sydney office
Cloud computing storage player Dropbox has announced it is opening an office in Sydney, as competition in the local enterprise cloud storage market accelerates.
Crackdown: ATO targets eight major tech giants paying little tax
The Australian Taxation Office has revealed plans to investigate eight major multinational technology companies, some of which which are paying "very low or no" tax in Australia, as scrutiny on so-called 'profit-shifting' activities by the local operations of technology giants such as Apple and Google continues to ramp up.
Loft Group deploys on IBM SoftLayer cloud
IBM's June 2013 acquisition of cloud computing company SoftLayer has started to pay off for Big Blue in Australia, with the company announcing last week that local creative digital agency The Loft Group had deployed its e-learning business platform on its Infrastructure as a Service infrastructure.
Monopoly? Melbourne IT buys rival Netregistry
Hosting and domain name specialist Melbourne IT announced today that it had entered into an agreement to acquire its biggest rival, Netregistry for $50.4 million, in a move that will ensure the fortunes of the company's founder Larry Bloch but also potentially create a giant with close to monopoly powers over the Australian domain name space.
Turnbull’s broadband brochureware falls short of election promise
The new Coalition Government has failed to successfully deliver what it had promised before the election would be a key report on the overall status of broadband infrastructure in Australia, instead releasing just before Christmas an extremely brief report of only several pages which does little to illuminate the situation.
CSC picks up cloud contract with Fred Hollows
Technology services giant CSC this morning revealed it had signed an extensive agreement to provide cloud computing services (Infrastructure as a Service) to charity the Fred Hollows Foundation.
How NAB’s private cloud keeps it carbon-neutral
The National Australia Bank has published a detailed white paper revealing how it used a combination of engineering and information technology tools and processes such as infrastructure on demand to achieve carbon neutrality and push beyond this benchmark into even greater heights of environmental efficiency.
Ray White IT manager in Ingenero shift
Real estate giant Ray White has lost its IT manager Steve Berg to growing solar power company Ingenero.
Lessons for Australia? UK outlaws IT contracts larger than £100m
The UK Government has taken a startling new stance on major IT contracts, outlawing new deals larger than £100 million (AU$190m) and declaring that it's time the country moved past traditional arrangements with "legacy technology giants", in a move which appears to mirror similar State Government initiatives in Australia.
Telstra ‘not logging’ customers’ web, email history
The nation's largest telco Telstra has flatly rejected allegations that it is routinely logging all of its customers' web browsing data and email history on behalf of national security and intelligence agencies, stating that it does not "routinely" collect or store its customers' telecommunications data unless required to do so.
Delusion? South Australia pledges “No more big ICT projects”
The South Australian State Government has issued a new whitepaper designed to provoke discussion of its future ICT strategy, promising as part of the document that from now on, it won't pursue "big ICT projects" any more, with all technology-related initiatives to last 90 days at most.
Funeral services group deploys Salesforce.com
US technology giant Salesforce.com has revealed that Australian funeral services provider InvoCare – which encompasses the Simplicity, White Lady and Guardian Funerals brands – has deployed its Sales Cloud customer relationship management software as a service application, in a deployment touching 130 branches across Australia.
Fairfax wants to dump Office, Exchange for Google
Media giant Fairfax has announced plans to will ditch Microsoft's Office and Exchange platforms for most of its 11,000-odd staff, with the company to become one of the largest known Australian organisations to shift onto Google's Apps platform for both email and office productivity software.
Hypocrisy? Fletcher pushs tech exports to China while TSSR bill looms
Parliamentary Secretary Paul Fletcher has taken the extraordinary step of publicly advocating for Australian technology firms to sell products and services into the booming Chinese market, while the Federal Government that he is part of is seeking to pass legislation which may block Chinese companies from selling to Australia’s public sector.
Telcos seek data retention extension to avoid legal action
Australia’s telco industry will formally write to the Government to request a formal delay in enforcing the controversial new data retention legislation, while Internet service providers around Australia struggle to meet the October 13 deadline for enacting its requirements within their operations.
Qld Govt Depts have no disaster recovery plan
Two sizable Queensland Government departments have no central disaster recovery plan, the state’s Auditor-General has found, despite the region’s ongoing struggles with extreme weather conditions that have previously knocked out telecommunications and data centre infrastructure.
Labor unveils strong Digital Economy push with top political support
The Australian Labor Party has created a new internal policy group focused on building a “new economy” through fostering innovation, startups and entrepreneurs, in a move that appears to have support from the highest political levels within the party.
ICAC to investigate NSW TAFE ICT manager
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) will hold a public inquiry starting on 17 August 2015 as part of an investigation it is conducting into allegations that a TAFE ICT manager dishonestly obtained over $1.7 million from the Department of Education and Communities TAFE South West Sydney Institute (SWSI).
Unprecedented: Whole ICT sector combines to blockade TSSR bill
Four of Australia’s most important industry groups have joined forces to deliver an unprecedented and comprehensive rejection of the Government’s planned national security telco legislation, labelling the bill ineffective and adding burdensome regulation and costs on the private sector.
ASD releases Windows 8 hardening guide
The Australian Signals Directorate appears to have released a guide to hardening Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system, three years after the software was released for use by corporate customers, and as Microsoft is slated to release its next upgrade, Windows 10.
ASG picks up $35m CIMIC IT services deal
Perth-headquartered IT services group ASG this week revealed it had picked up a deal worth at least $35 million over five years with CIMIC Group — the massive construction and contracting group previously known as Leighton Holdings.
Huawei thaws Coalition’s Chinese freeze
Huawei appears to have become increasingly successful at collaborating with senior figures in the Coalition, as the party gradually warms up to the Chinese manufacturer’s advances.
Weather bureau gets $80m Cray supercomputer
The Bureau of Meteorology this week revealed it had signed a US$59 million (AU$80 million) contract with US supercomputer specialist Cray for a beefy machine that will deliver the agency about 16 times its current computing capacity and allow it to predict the weather that much better.
Labor dances around telco national security support
Labor’s Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland has made a series of nebulous statements expressing vague concern about the Government’s latest package of telco-related national security reform, but without actually taking a position on the controversial legislation.
RAC builds electric vehicle highway in WA
The Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia this week revealed it had build a network of charging stations around the state that can be used by anyone with an electric vehicle, as infrastructure of this kind continues to be deployed around the nation.
Telcos go on warpath over national security laws
The telecommunications industry is up in arms over proposed new legislation which could give the Government unprecedented access to and control over their networks in the name of national security, with both Telstra and the Communications Alliance publicly expressing their strong concern on the issue this morning.
Three years later, Optus finally gets HD voice
Almost three years after Telstra and two years after Vodafone, national mobile operator Optus has finally enabled high-definition voice calling on its mobile network.
Qld ploughs $24m into startups, teaches coding
Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Labor Government in Queensland yesterday revealed plans to throw $24 million at the state’s rapidly expanding startup sector, as part of a much wider $180 million package of reforms aimed at creating “jobs of the future”.
Australia still hearts Windows Server 2003
Research published by local analyst firm Telsyte and Dell yesterday suggests that one in five Australian businesses are still running Microsoft’s decade-old operating system Windows Server 2003, despite the fact that Redmond is about to stop supporting the dated software for good.
Cryptographers issue belated complaint about Defence Trade Controls fix
Australian and international cryptographers have published statements noting they remain “deeply concerned” about Australian legislation that places some controls on research involving sensitive technologies such as encryption, despite several years of consultation resulting in recent multi-partisan moves to rectify flawed legislation first introduced in 2012.
Coalition implodes in Internet filter fail
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been forced to issue an embarassing retraction regarding the publication of a new online child safety policy late yesterday afternoon, which had initially stated that the Coalition was planning to resurrect Labor's failed mandatory Internet filtering scheme.
“Large ISP” got away with refusing filter
Former Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has revealed that the Australian Federal Police appears to have given up on pursuing the un-named large Australian ISP which flatly refused to implement the Federal Government's limited mandatory ISP filtering scheme based on a list of offensive sites supplied by Interpol.
Global eyes are watching: EFF condemns Australia’s new Internet filter
The global Electronic Frontiers Foundation has harshly criticised the Federal Government for allowing departments and agencies to unilaterally block websites suspected of containing illegal content, saying that it "beggars belief" that such a system could be in place after the previous mandatory filter policy was defeated.
Interpol filter scope creep: ASIC ordering unilateral website blocks
The Federal Government has confirmed its financial regulator has started requiring Australian Internet service providers to block websites suspected of providing fraudulent financial opportunities, in a move which appears to also open the door for other government agencies to unilaterally block sites they deem questionable in their own portfolios.
Vodafone sends Interpol filter live
National mobile carrier Vodafone has revealed it has become the third major Australian Internet service provider to implement the limited Internet filtering scheme supported by the Federal Government and Australian Federal Police, in a move which will now see its customers blocked from accessing a set of offensive sites supplied by Interpol.
Turnbull inaccurate on internet filter details
Malcolm Turnbull has appeared to make a number of incorrect statements over the past week regarding the Federal Government's now defunct mandatory Internet filtering policy, as the Shadow Communications Minister and other senior Coalition figures continues to make inaccurate statements in the communications portfolio.
Legal basis shaky for Interpol filter, says IPA
Australian free market thinktank the Institute of Public Affairs has accused the Federal Government of relying on an “obscure” section of telecommunications law in a way that was never intended to implement its new limited Internet filtering scheme, and warned of the potential for scope creep under the scheme.
Finally: Conroy kills mandatory filter for good
Ding, dong, the witch is dead. Almost five years after the current Labor Federal Government starting trying to force its controversial mandatory Internet filter policy on an extremely unwilling Australian population, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has formally dumped the policy in favour of a much more limited system already in place at Telstra and Optus.
Turnbull links data retention with Conroy’s filter
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has likened the Federal Government’s controversial data retention and surveillance plan to the mandatory Internet filtering project which remains official policy of the Federal Government, despite the fact that Labor’s attempt to introduce it several years ago was met with near-universal political and popular opposition.
Telstra cancels covert filter testing
The nation's largest telco Telstra today announced it had stopped archiving the web browsing activity of its users for the purpose of implementing a new voluntary Internet filter product, following widespread concern expressed this week after the test was revealed by a savvy group of network administrators.
Conroy sees “positive outcome” ahead on filter
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has indicated the Government is having discussions with the telecommunications industry about the future of its controversial mandatory Internet filtering project, the future of which is currently hanging in the balance, following the delivery of a review of Australia's classification system.
Interpol filter causes sharp drop in offensive requests
The implementation of a limited Internet filter at Telstra has caused a dramatic and rapid drop in the numbers of attempts by the telco's customers to access child abuse materials online, statistics released by the Australian Federal Police have shown.
Filter blocks Senators’ access to over 35m sites
Senator Scott Ludlam, Australian Greens communications spokesperson revealed in a media release yesterday that Australia’s parliamentarians have had their Web access heavily filtered. This follows the defeat of the Government’s proposed mandatory Internet filtering scheme more than a year ago.
Abbott won’t recreate Labor’s “ham-fisted” Internet filter
The Opposition has formed a new working group to deal with the issue of online safety for Australian children, stating that its rival policy will avoid the "ham-fisted" "cyber-censorship" mandatory Internet filtering approach that remains Labor Federal Government policy for dealing with the issue of how children are protected from Internet nasties.
Telstra still working with Conroy on filter
Telstra is continuing to work with the Federal Government to filter a blacklist of child abuse sites developed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, despite the fact that the telco and rival Optus have already implemented a similar scheme with the cooperation of the Australian Federal Police and international policing agency Interpol.
ISPs won’t talk about Interpol filter support
Three of Australia's major ISPs -- TPG, Dodo and Primus -- have not responded to repeated requests to disclose whether they are planning to implement the limited Internet filtering scheme which is being promulgated by the Australian Federal Police in cooperation with international policing agency Interpol.
Vodafone implementing Interpol filter
National mobile carrier Vodafone yesterday confirmed it was currently looking at technology solutions which would enable it in 2012 to implement the limited Internet filtering scheme promulgated in Australia by the Australian Federal Police in cooperation with international policing agency Interpol.
Interpol filter: IIA clueless on ISP sign-ups
The nation's peak ISP representative body today acknowledged it did not know which Australian ISPs had signed up to implement the limited Internet filtering initiative which it developed six months ago, with the scheme passing out of its remit and into the hands of the Australian Federal Police.
More ISPs sign up to AFP’s Interpol filter
The Australian Federal Police has revealed that two more ISPs have signed up to implement the limited Internet filtering scheme that has been developed by the AFP and industry group the Internet Industry Association, although their identities at this stage are unclear.
ISPs don’t have to collect voluntary filter data
The Australian Federal Police has confirmed there is no obligation by Internet service providers participating in its voluntary Internet filtering trial to collect data about how many requests to visit the sites they block under the trial -- or to disclose that data if it is actually collected.
Optus’ Interpol filter goes live
Optus has confirmed it has now put in place the voluntary filter that rival Telstra has had running for nearly a month. A spokesperson for Optus said today that the Interpol filter was put into operation “last thing” on Friday, and has been ‘live’ for customers over the weekend.
Vodafone may support Interpol filter
National mobile carrier Vodafone has signalled its support for the new voluntary Internet filtering scheme being implemented by rivals Telstra and Optus, but has refused to clarify whether it will definitely implement the scheme or not.
Interpol filter: Does it breach user agreements?
Does the mandatory implementation of a limited Internet filtering scheme by Telstra and Optus constitute a breach of the ISPs' existing agreements with their users? So far the situation is unclear, according to Australia's Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.
Exetel shuns ‘pointless’ Interpol filter
Exetel has joined ranks with Internode and TPG with respect to the limited filtering scheme being rolled out by Telstra and Optus, with the ISP's chief executive John Linton today stating it would not implement the scheme unless required to do so by law, and describing the industry association backing the project as "a bunch of wankers with nothing better to do with their time than pointlessly pontificate".
Filtering technically impossible for us, says NBN Co
The National Broadband Network Company late yesterday confirmed it wouldn't be implementing the limited filtering scheme being implemented by other Australian telcos, noting that the national network it was constructing was incompatible with the type of technology being used in the filter.
Optus’ filter can be defeated by ‘trivial’ DNS change
The nation's second-largest telco Optus this afternoon confirmed users would be able to defeat its implementation of a blacklist filter of sites containing child pornography merely by changing the DNS settings on their PC.
Optus’ filter to go live later this month
The nation's number two telco Optus has confirmed it will follow Telstra and start filtering its customers' Internet traffic for a blacklist of sites containing child pornography within the next few weeks.
Telstra’s Interpol filter goes live
The nation's largest telco Telstra tonight confirmed it had started filtering its customers' Internet traffic for a blacklist of sites containing child pornography as compiled by international policing agency Interpol.
Most ISPs will filter Interpol list this year: IIA
The association representing Australia's internet industry today claimed that 80 to 90 percent of Australians would have their internet connections filtered for child pornography this year, following the release of an industry code in July that will focus on a blacklist of sites supplied by international policing agency Interpol.
Primus may dump voluntary ISP filter
National broadband provider Primus has given its first indication that it may have changed its mind about implementing a voluntary ISP-based filter to block child pornography from reaching its customers, despite making a commitment on the issue 12 months ago to the Federal Government.
Telstra proposes to filter Interpol blacklist
The nation's largest telco Telstra today revealed it was close to receiving executive sign-off for its internal proposal guiding the technical details of how it will cooperate with the Federal Government to voluntarily filter a list of sites containing child pornography from being accessed by its internet customers.
Conroy trusts public’s “common sense” on filter
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy this afternoon said he trusted Australians to get the mix of content to be blocked under Labor's controversial mandatory internet filter project right, and that the Government remained committed to the initiative.
Budget 2011: Filter grants cancelleddue to lack of interest
The Federal Government tonight announced that it would not proceed with a funding program which has seen Australian internet service providers provided with grants to offer internet filtering options to customers; citing a lack of interest in the project.
Voluntary filtering on track for mid-2011
Stephen Conroy's Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy tonight said voluntary filtering of the internet for child abuse material by three of Australia's largest internet service providers was on track to kick off in the middle of this year.
Filter gets a new date: Mid-2013
Legislation supporting Labor's mandatory internet filtering project may not hit parliament until mid-2013, according to advice provided to Stephen Conroy by his department -- a timeframe which may make it an issue in the next election.
Conroy’s dept is not working on the filter
The year-long delay which Stephen Conroy has introduced before the planned implementation of the Federal Government's mandatory internet filter project has had a dramatic impact on the activities of the Communications Minister's Department.
Gillard: Filter is a “moral question”
Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday took the high ground in defending Labor's mandatory internet filtering project, describing the issue of how to ensure Australians didn't get access to the wrong content as a “moral question”.
Conroy: We’re not walking away from filter
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy last night remained stalwart in his support for Labor's controversial mandatory internet filtering scheme in a heated debate on the ABC's Q&A program with representatives of the public, the Coalition, the Australian Sex Party and more.
Stallman slams filter as ‘human rights attack’
Labor's controversial mandatory internet filter project is an attack on human rights, and Australians should beware of the project and other tyrannical government policies, free software luminary Richard Stallman has said in an interview ahead of a visit to Australia in October.
Filter an example of Rudd’s Whitlamesque stupidity, says Linton
Reactions to Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey's startling revelation last night that the Coalition would vote against Labor's mandatory internet filtering policy -- likely dooming it to fail -- continued to roll in this morning, including one from outspoken filter opponent and Exetel chief John Linton.
Christian lobby slams “incomprehensible” filter block
The Australian Christian Lobby has slammed as "incomprehensible" a revelation by Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey late yesterday that the Coalition would vote against Labor's controversial mandatory internet filtering project if associated legislation made it into parliament.
‘Please explain’, Conroy tells Hockey on filter
The office of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy tonight challenged Shadow Treasurer to explain the Coalition's opposition revealed this afternoon to Labor's controversial internet filter policy.
IT’S DEAD: Opposition to block Labor’s filter
Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey tonight revealed the Coalition would block Labor's mandatory internet filtering policy in parliament, in a move that will signal...
Video: Five ways to defeat the filter
Digital rights lobby group Electronic Frontiers Australia has published this video consisting of five easy ways to defeat the Labor Federal Government's mandatory internet filtering scheme. The technology has not yet been implemented, but has already been trialled.
Mixed reactions to filter delay
There were mixed reactions from politicians, industry and lobbyists on Friday to Communications Minister Stephen Conroy’s revelation that the Government’s controversial internet filtering legislation would be delayed for a year while a review was held into the Refused Classification category of content which the filter would block.
Filter delayed for a year by RC content review
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy this morning announced a number of wide-ranging modifications to the Government's controversial mandatory internet filtering policy, including a delay of at least a year to the project while the state and Federal governments review the Refused Classification category of content which the filter would block.
Gillard: Conroy will get filter into shape
New Prime Minister Julia Gillard today said she understands concerns about the Government's controversial mandatory internet filtering policy, but Communications Minister Stephen Conroy was putting effort in to get the policy into shape.
National Party members vote against internet filter
The National Party of Australia has come out swinging against the Federal Government's mandatory internet filter policy, with a motion passed at the party's Federal conference on the weekend against the idea.
Lundy proffers opt-in filter option to Labor
Labor Senator Kate Lundy has expanded the set of options she will take to the party room regarding the controversial mandatory internet filter policy, including an opt-in approach alongside her existing opt-out option.
Video: Ludlam attacks the filter
Yesterday in the Federal Senate Greens senator Scott Ludlam delivered a blunt rejoinder to Communications Minister Stephen Conroy’s statement this week that Australians would stand up against a future broadening scope of the internet filtering project, saying: "We are standing up". You can now watch the full speech below.
Filter: Parents object more when they know more
A survey commissioned by groups opposed to the Federal Goverment's internet filter project has found that parents in marginal electoral seats are less likely to support the proposal, the more detailed information they are given about it -- although they strongly supported the filter idea overall.
Conroy denies filter circumvention offence planned
The office of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has acknowledged the existence of a protected online forum used to discuss controversial issues about the internet filter, but has appeared to reject forum suggestions from departmental officials that the Government could make it an offence to promote methods of circumventing the filter.
DBCDE forum reveals filter legislation not drafted
Electronic Frontiers Australia today revealed Stephen Conroy's department was hosting a protected online forum to discuss controversial issues about the Government's internet filter initiative, including the lack of a complete draft of the planned legislation as of several weeks ago and the possibility of making it an offence to promote methods of circumventing the filter.
Boyce queries Conroy, Smith on US filter concerns
Queensland Opposition Senator Sue Boyce has written to Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith asking for more information on the US government's inquiry about the Government's internet filtering project.
“They don’t get it”: Huston slams “Village Idiot” approach on Data Retention
Global Internet networks expert Geoff Huston this week said Australia was at risk of being positioned as the “Global Village Idiot” courtesy of the Data Retention legislation passed by the “bureaucrats” in the Government, alleging that none of the organisations in support of the policy actually understand technology.
Fletcher contradicts Turnbull on NBN satellite sale
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his Parliamentary Secretary Paul Fletcher have, in the space of less than three months, given directly contradictory statements on whether the Federal Government may sell off NBN Co's nascent satellite infrastructure in the near future.
Closed Govt: Coalition may walk away from transparency
The Coalition Federal Government has reportedly signalled it is reconsidering the previous Labor administration's commitment to join the multilateral Open Government Partnership aimed at increasing citizen engagement and government transparency, in a move which would place Australia alongside just one other nation to withdraw: Russia.
IIA hands baton to Comms Alliance
Australia's Internet Industry Association is to to shut down and transfer its operations to the Communications Alliance, in the second major termination of an Australian telecommunications representative group in under three years.
Turnbull Blue Book access application fails
An attempt by technology media outlet Delimiter to retrieve the 'Blue Book' incoming ministerial briefing of Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull under Freedom of Information laws has failed, with the Federal Government as a whole appearing to standardise around interpreting its rights as blocking such documents wholesale.
Govt social media policy “counterproductive”, say Web 2.0 giants
The Australian divisions of the world's largest social networking companies have criticised the new Coalition administration's approach to dealing with the issue of children's safety on the Internet as "counterproductive", in a move which signals the start of opposition to ongoing attempts by successive Australian Governments to regulate the Internet.
Delimiter appeals Turnbull Blue Book censorship
Delimiter has appealed a move by the Department of Communications to block the release of new Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s ‘Blue Book’ incoming ministerial briefing under Freedom of Information laws.
Shorten won’t release Lazard NBN report
The Opposition has confirmed it will not consent to key Labor cabinet documents related to the National Broadband Network being publicly released, in comments which let Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull off the hook from doing the same.
‘I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me yours’: Turnbull to open Blue Book...
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has stated that he will seek to publicly release his 'Blue Book' incoming ministerial briefing if the Opposition will consent to release a number of NBN-related documents which were considered as part of the previous Labor administration's cabinet.
Dept agrees: ‘Public interest’ in Turnbull Blue Book
Malcolm Turnbull's Department of Communications has halved its processing charges for releasing the new Minister's 'Blue Book' incoming briefing under Freedom of Information laws, citing the fact that release of the document would be consistent with the objects of the FoI Act and would resonate strongly with the public, although the final fate of the FoI request is not yet clear.
Ludlam recount finds “hundreds” of misplaced votes
Greens Senator Scott Ludlam has revealed the ongoing recount of the Senate vote for the Federal Election in Western Australia has found “hundreds” of misplaced votes, in a move which the tech-savvy Senator said validated his request for a recount that could see him hold onto his seat in the state.
Switkowski makes ex-Labor NBN exec redundant
Ziggy Switkowski has made the position of a senior NBN Co executive with a Labor political history redundant and allocated his responsibilities to a former Telstra executive with close links to Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, in one of the NBN Co executive chairman’s first moves since taking the company’s reins.
Hope for Ludlam as WA recount confirmed
The electoral fate of Greens Senator and Communications Spokesperson Scott Ludlam is likely to hang in the balance for some time yet, following confirmation yesterday by the Australian Electoral Commission that it would conduct a partial recount of the Western Australian Senate vote in the Federal Election.
Greens’ Ludlam loses WA Senate seat
Technology-focused Greens politician Scott Ludlam has formally lost his Senate seat in Western Australia, the Australian Electoral Commission confirmed today, in a move which will be interpreted as a substantial blow to the digital rights movement in Australia.
Turnbull’s Blue Book: Help us crowdfund the new Minister’s briefing
Want to read the massive, 545 page departmental briefing document which Malcolm Turnbull received when he was sworn in as Communications Minister several weeks ago? We do too, but we'll need your help; so we've launched a $2,000 Pozible campaign to crowdfund access to it under Freedom of Information laws.
Fletcher to assist Turnbull with NBN
As expected, Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott has named Malcolm Turnbull as incoming Communications Minister in his new cabinet, additionally appointing Liberal MP and former Optus executive Paul Fletcher as a parliamentary secretary to assist the Member for Wentworth in dealing with the communications portfolio.
‘Too busy’: Attorney-General refuses election interview on online rights issues
Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has flatly refused to take part in a live election interview on key technology issues in his portfolio, such as copyright reform, data retention, telecommunications surveillance and Internet piracy, stipulating instead that all questions on the issues must be submitted in writing.
Govt takes no action on website blocking
The Federal Government has admitted it has as of yet taken no action to improve the transparency and accountability of the unilateral use by individual departments and agencies of an obscure section of the Telecommunications Act to force telcos and ISPs to block websites suspected of conducting illegal activities.
Revealed: ASIC’s secret website block notices
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has published the full text of its official notices to telcos requesting they block websites suspected of providing fraudulent financial information, with the documents revealing that both the frequency and breadth of the agency's blocking activities has increased since they began 12 months ago.
End of an era: Stephen Conroy quits as Comms Minister
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has reportedly resigned his post in the wake of Kevin Rudd’s successful challenge for the leadership of the Federal Labor Party, after declaring earlier this week that he would not serve in a new Rudd Cabinet.
ASIC repeatedly delays S.313 FoI responses
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has on multiple occasions over the past month, involving multiple parties, delayed responding to Freedom of Information requests seeking documents relating to its controversial decision to start unilaterally blocking websites it suspects of fraudulent activity.
‘No apologies’: ASIC pledges to block more sites
The chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission last week said the regulator would not "apologise" for using an obscure section of the Telecommunications Act to block websites suspected of fraud, and stated that the organisation would continue to use the controversial power to block more sites.
“National security matter”: Third agency caught unilaterally blocking web sites
The Federal Government has acknowledged that a third agency, beyond ASIC and the Australian Federal Police, has been using the Telecommunications Act to unilaterally block certain websites, with bureaucrats refusing to disclose which agency was involved, apart from stating that the issue was "a national security matter".
Top Gillard IT security czar has never heard of Tor
One of the top public servants involved in advising on national Australian cyber-security policy has admitted the division she helps lead was "not familiar" with the decade-old Tor software frequently used by activists and those seeking secure communications to protect their anonymity when using the Internet.
ASIC blocked “numerous” sites over 9 months
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission revealed tonight that it had in fact blocked "numerous" websites over the past nine months which it suspected contained illegal material, as fears about the extent of the agency's covert Internet filtering scheme continue to grow.
FOI requests target Section 313 notices
News that Federal Government agencies such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission have quietly started unilaterally forcing Australian ISPs to block websites suspected of containing illegal material has spurred an extensive round of Freedom of Information requests, as journalists and activists seek to ascertain how widespread the practice is.
Abbott confirms Turnbull as future Comms Minister
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott confirmed over the weekend that he expected Malcolm Turnbull to become Communications Minister and have responsibility for the National Broadband Network project in a Coalition Government, following his time as Shadow Minister since September 2010.
CERT report finds IT hacks uncommon, usually petty
A major new study of the IT security habits and experiences of Australian organisations conducted by government group CERT Australia has found the majority did not suffer an IT security incident over the past 12 months, and those that did mainly suffered minor breaches such as the theft of a laptop of smartphone.
Telstra customers threaten desertion over P2P trial
Telstra's plans to kick off a trial that will see it throttle some peer to peer services on its ADSL broadband network have been met with an outraged reaction from its customers, with many instantly threatening to cancel their services and take their business elsewhere if the trial goes ahead.
Conroy fights Internet control in Dubai
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has revealed he is leading a team to a key telecommunications conference being held in Dubai this week at which the International Telecommunications Union is attempting to seek greater control over the operation of the Internet.
Coalition calls for kids’ e-safety commissioner
In the wake of the death of Labor’s controversial Internet filtering policy, the Opposition has proposed creating a new Federal commissioner to coordinate a national approach to protecting Australian childrens’ safety online, with powers that would include forcing social media providers such as Facebook and Twitter to take down objectionable content.
Top cybercop had no idea about Telstra logging
Australia’s highest-ranking cybercrime police officer yesterday acknowledged he had not followed the controversial news which broke in June that the nation’s largest telco Telstra had been archiving the web browsing activity of its users, despite the fact that his organisation, the Australian Federal Police, received requests by concerned citizens to investigate the issue.
More Internet regulation unnecessary: Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has delivered a major speech arguing that government regulation is not the solution to societal challenges posed by the onset of new technology such as the Internet, in contrast to what he said was the Federal Government’s “command and control” approach to the medium.
Turnbull has “grave misgivings” on data retention
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has broken his silence regarding the Fedeal Government's controversial data retention and surveillance package, declaring that he has "grave misgivings" about a project which he feels "seems to be heading in precisely the wrong direction".
NBN could cost $100bn, claims Hockey
Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey has claimed the National Broadband Network could cost as much as $100 billion to build, despite the company’s own estimates showing that it will require around $37 billion of capital injection from the Government and eventually make a return, paying back the investment with some profit on top.
Data retention “hysteria” needs “cold shower”: Roxon
Federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon has called for critics of the Federal Government's proposed new data retention and surveillance package to take a "cold shower" and stop insulting in "hysteria" over the proposal.
Liberal backbencher slams “Gestapo” data retention
The first sign of tension has emerged within the Opposition over the Federal Government's proposed new surveillance and data retention powers, with a prominent Liberal backbencher describing the proposal as being akin to tactics used by the Third Reich's notorious Secret Police.
IPA damns “extraordinary” data retention policy
One of Australia's most prominent conservative and free market-focused think tanks has published a strongly worded critique damning the Federal Government’s planned telecommunications surveillance and data retention reform package as "excessive" and "systematically" breaching Australians' right to privacy.
330k users: Google Apps hits Catholic schools
Search giant Google has revealed its Google Apps software as a service platform has been deployed to some 330,000 students, teachers and administrative staff at Catholic schools across Australia, in one of the largest local known rollouts of the platform so far.
Anonymous posts hacked AAPT data
The loose knit group of Internet activists known as 'Anonymous' over the weekend published some 3.5 gigabytes of data sourced from Australian telco AAPT, in protest against a wide-ranging package of surveillance and data retention reforms currently proposed by the Federal Government.
Turnbull accuses ABC of NBN “propaganda”
Malcolm Turnbull has accused the national broadcaster of creating “relentless propaganda” to support Labor’s flagship National Broadband Network, in a stance which the Shadow Communications Minister yesterday described as “embarrassing”.
Conroy slams Turnbull’s NBN policy “pretence”
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has rejected comments by his opposition shadow Malcolm Turnbull that a Coalition Government would proceed with Labor's National Broadband Network project, describing them as a con, as misleading and "merely pretence" that didn't reflect the reality of the Coalition's actual NBN policy.
Qld dumps whole of government email project
Queensland's new LNP State Government late last week revealed plans to dump the troubled colossal whole of government email project begun under the previous Bligh Labor administration, with IT Minister Ros Bates highlighting the possibility to shift to a "cloud-based solution" instead.
Australia’s Internet freedom being eroded, Greens warn
The Australian Greens have issued a broad statement warning Australians that their Internet freedom is being steadily 'eroded', with a wide swathe of government initiatives in areas ranging from surveillance to data retention, to the freedom of expression and privacy set to affect the nation over the coming years.
Made in Australia: Windows Phone 7 apps plugged
Developed Down Under (DDU) is a new, free, Aussie-made mobile phone app for the Windows Phone 7 platform that officially went live about a week ago.
Exetel’s John Linton has passed away
John Linton, the maverick chief executive of Internet service provider Exetel, has tragically passed away, according to several public notices published by Exetel staff this morning.
Ludlam suspects Govt of bugging his iPhone
Greens Senator Scott Ludlam has publicly stated that he suspects law enforcement agencies of bugging his mobile phone, despite admitting that he doesn't have a shred of evidence that such action might be taking place, and despite the fact that he has not had his mobile phone examined for bugging software.
iBooks textbooks? Sorry, not for Australia
Apple has limited access to the broad range of new educational textbooks announced through its iBookstore overnight to students in the US, locking Australians and those in other countries out of accessing the new content from publishers such as McGraw-Hill and Pearson.
Aussie Internet freedom at risk, says Sex Party
The Australian Sex Party has accused the Federal Government of following the lead of the United States in restricting civil liberties in Internet usage, with proposed American legislation such as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in play in the US and controversial talks between the content and ISP industries similarly under way locally.
Govt delays multiple tech FOI requests
Three major Federal Government departments and agencies have delayed the release of sensitive information relating to controversial technology sector issues under Freedom of Information legislation, citing the need to closely examine the documents and consult with third parties before the information is released.
Perth app developer wins $1.1m capital
Perth-based smartphone app developer Filter Squad this week announced it had taken a new $1.1 million funding round led by fellow Perth firm Yuuwa Capital, as the startup continues to leverage its popular Discovr iOS app into commercial success.
Labor MP wants ACCC enquiry into Aussie tech tax
Federal Labor MP Ed Husic has widened his complaint about price markups on Apple products in Australia to include other vendors such as Adobe, Microsoft and Lenovo, raising the possibility that an enquiry could be held into the matter by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
NBN-connected Tassie schools finally get access
The Tasmanian Government has finalised a solution to a contractual impasse which has seen a number of schools in early stage National Broadband Network rollout zones in the state unable to utilise the infrastructure, despite the fibre having been physically connected to their premises.
Delimiter Forum: Take #3
I just wanted to invite you to start beta testing Delimiter's new forum, which we have implemented over the past several weeks. You can find it by clicking here!
NSW blocks R18+ video game rating
The NSW Government today reportedly abstained from voting on a proposal to introduce a long-awaited R18+ classification for video games sold in Australia, effectively halting the long-awaited new standard, despite the unanimous agreement of every other state and territory that it should go ahead.
Federal Parliament warms to the iPad
Liberal MP Jamie Briggs has one. Labor MP Ed Husic read his maiden speech from his. And Malcolm Turnbull is famous for using his all the time. But officials in Federal Parliament are only gradually beginning to concede that it might be OK for Apple-obsessed politicians to connect their iDevices to the parliamentary Wi-Fi network.
Quigley smears are “Godwin Grech revisited”: Conroy
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy this morning laughed off questions about the appointment of Mike Quigley to lead NBN Co, describing issues raised by his shadow Malcolm Turnbull as being a "pathetic" smear campaign and "Godwin Grech re-visited".
You’ll get the NBN: Conroy promises Tassie schools
The Office of Communciations Minister Stephen Conroy has reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to bringing the National Broadband Network to Tasmanian schools, in the wake of news yesterday that schools in early stage rollout zones in Tasmania had not had the NBN fibre switched on a year after it was connected.
Abbott would ‘dig NBN cables up’, says Gillard
Prime Minister Julia Gillard this morning claimed the Opposition was still determined to destroy her government's flagship National Broadband Network project, and would take a policy to the next election of literally ripping the initiative's fibre-optic cables "out of the ground".
Hasta la vista, Turnbull: Conroy is “the Terminator”
In one of the more amusing articles we’ve seen discussing the relative performance of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy against his nemesis Malcolm Turnbull, Bernard Keane argues at Crikey that Conroy is akin to one of science fiction’s greatest villains.
Gillard repeats: Abbott would ‘rip the NBN fibre up’
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has repeated her claim that a Coalition Government would physically remove the National Broadband Networks' fibre cables out of the ground if it were to take office.
Conroy slams Turnbull’s “half-baked” NBN plan
Communications Minister Stephen COnroy yesterday attacked the Coalition's plans for an alternative to the National Broadband Network, calling the rival policy as “half-baked” and cobbled together.
Exetel prices show up Coalition lies, says Conroy
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has demanded the Opposition admit they have been "misleading" Australians about the end user cost of accessing the National Broadband Network, in the wake of the release of new cut-rate NBN plans by ISP Exetel.
Qld Premier defends iPad first claim
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has been forced to defend her claim that the state is the first government to allow ministers to read their briefing notes via Apple iPad, with a number of commentators pointing out a similar move by the Australian Capital Territory revealed just weeks ago.
NBN: Is Conroy telling ‘porkies’ on Tassie schools?
The Federal Opposition has accused Communications Minister Stephen Conroy of telling "porkies" over the extent to which NBN-connected schools in Tasmania are actually using their new broadband service, more than 12 months after the infrastructure was rolled out in select locations in the state.
Turnbull wants Govt-funded email for all
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has reportedly proposed a policy which would see every Australian allocated a limited email-like inbox to receive communications from governments, if the Coalition took power in the next election.
Conroy must acknowledge wireless threat: Turnbull
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy must acknowledge the incoming generation of wireless broadband products represents a threat to the economic case for the National Broadband Network, Malcolm Turnbull said yesterday, in the wake of the revelation that NBN Co itself was concerned about the issue.
Shame on you, Dodo tells Paul Fletcher
Cut-rate broadband provider Dodo has slammed comments made about its customer service record in parliament by Liberal MP Paul Fletcher as "grossly unfair" and noted it would have expected more from the politician, given he was a former telecommunications sector executive.
Turnbull wireless complaints getting “tedious”: Conroy
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has described comments by parliamentary opponent Malcolm Turnbull on the issue of wireless broadband competing with the NBN as "tedious", noting "virtually all experts" were in agreement that wireless and fixed broadband were complementary services, and highlighting what he called Turnbull's "hypocrisy" on the matter.
Wireless NBN clause could harm competition: ACCC
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today warned a clause in Telstra's $13 billion contract with NBN Co prohibiting Telstra from marketing wireless technologies as an alternative to fibre broadband could be "detrimental to competition" and should be investigated further.
Telstra may release NBN pricing shortly
The nation's largest telco Telstra last week gave the first indication that it may shortly be about to release details of its commercial pricing for access to services over the fledgling National Broadband Network infrastructure, as debate continues to swirl around what exact price Australians will pay for access to the infrastructure.
War of NBN words: Turnbull clashes with Pesce again
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has again engaged in a highly public clash of wills with technology innovator and futurist Mark Pesce, over whether Labor's flagship National Broadband Network policy is the right way forward for Australia's telecommunications industry.
Telstra 100Mbps HFC cable goes national
Australia's largest telco Telstra late yesterday confirmed it would roll out 100Mbps speeds on its HFC cable nationally, following a pilot of the enabling DOCSIS 3.0 technology in Melbourne from 2009 and a similar rollout by arch-rival Optus.
Everything about the NBN is bad, says Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has delivered a blistering end of year attack on the Federal Government's flagship National Broadband Network project, detailing an extraordinary range of areas in which he believes the project is failing.
NBN Co largely cleared over greenfields competition
A Productivity Commission review of the National Broadband Network Company's behaviour in greenfields fibre rollout environments has largely exonerated the company of any uncompetitive behaviour, following complaints made by existing service providers in such areas.
Conroy F-bomb beats policy debate on Google News
Fascinating video above by Jim Stewart from our favourite Aussie search engine optimisation firm StewArtMedia. In the video, Stewart dissects how news aggregator Google News treated reporting of yesterday's speech by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy.
NBN policy should integrate FTTN, HFC: Budde
Maverick telecommunications analyst Paul Budde has published a blog entry arguing that realising the vision of the National Broadband Network (NBN) initiative will require not just building new FTTH (Fibre to the Home) networks, but also retaining the current HFC (Hybrid Fibre Coaxial) and FTTN (Fibre to the Node) networks currently being used in Australia.
NBN take-up “a bitter jest”, says Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has labelled news that NBN Co has signed up some 4,000 customers to its networks as "a bitter jest", pointing out that the company's own corporate plan planned for 35,000 customers to be using the infrastructure by June 2011, and 137,000 by June 2012.
Turnbull wants strong ACCC oversight of NBN Co
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has warned the National Broadband Network Company must not not dodge Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) oversight, echoing concerns by a number of the company's ISP customers early this year.
Govt still hasn’t certified Apple iOS devices
Apple's iPhone 3G was first released in Australia three and a half years ago, and its flagship iPad tablet 18 months ago. But the Federal Government still hasn't certified the devices for use in government agencies, despite having pledged to do so by September last year, and despite approving Research in Motion's unpopular rival, the BlackBerry PlayBook.
Fletcher wants Oz to learn from UK broadband policy
In a new blog entry entitled “What can we learn from the UK?”, Liberal MP Paul Fletcher has lambasted the broadband policies of the Gillard Government, unfavourable contrasting them with the approach of the Cameron Government in the UK.
NBN policy: Show us some detail, Conroy tells Turnbull
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has demanded that the Coalition disclose some basic details of its rival broadband policy, noting that Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has not substantially outlined the policy further in public since a landmark speech on the issue in the middle of 2011.
Tableau beds down Telstra Super
US business intelligence vendor Tableau Software has claimed Telstra's superannuation fund Telstra Super as a major Australian client, with the company deploying Tableau's solution to gain additional insight into its membership and transactional data.
Uni of New England opens Lync to 23,000
Microsoft has revealed that Armidale's University of New England has licensed its Lync unified communications platform for the use of 23,000 students and staff, in a deployment which appears to set a new record for the use of the technology in Australian educational institutions and which opens UNE's remote learning doors further.
Atlassian doubles staff, revenues in 18 months
Australian enterprise software group Atlassian overnight revealed it had approximately doubled its headcount and revenues over the past 18 months, as it rapidly expands its operations internationally on the back of the $60 million in venture capital investment it took in mid-2010.
Offshore cloud providers popular in Australia
A study has found that two-thirds of Australian enterprises which utilise cloud computing services, do so from offshore providers whose servers are located outside Australia rather than opting for a local provider.
Optus inks $19.5m satellite deal with Defence
SingTel subsidiary Optus this morning revealed it had inked a $19.5 million contract with the Department of Defence, extending its current relationship in delivering managed professional satellite services to the Department for four years until mid-2018.
Defence appoints Mohan as new CTO
The Department of Defence has appointed a new chief technology officer, nicking senior Toll IT executive Aiyaswami Mohan to replace its previous CTO Matt Yannopoulous, who left in October last year to take up the role of chief information officer at the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
Government reveals new IT services panel policy
The Australian Government’s Special Minister of State Gary Gray has announced a policy that will halve the number of IT panels servicing Government agencies.
Stephen Wilson leaves Qantas
One of Australia's most high-profile IT executives, Stephen Wilson has finished a short-lived stint in the private sector, with the executive confirmed to have left a senior role at Qantas to lead the IT operations of Sydney Water, just two years after he left his post as CIO of the NSW Department of Education to join the airline.
Clutch of Aussie manufacturers go NetSuite
Enterprise software company NetSuite this morning revealed that a clutch of Australian manufacturers including Headland, Precision Mechatronics and BA Equipment Group had recently adopted its software as a service platform, as the vendor continues to make headway in the mid-level customer market in Australia.
E*Trade flooded with DDoS before Christmas
ANZ Bank's stockbroking service E*Trade was hit by a distributed denial of service attack in the lead-up to the 2011 Christmas season. After initial denials that the site had been attacked, the company sent its customers a letter informing them about the attack yesterday.
The Suncorp pitch: Core banking overhaul matters
Tier two banking and insurance giant Suncorp has started talking up the benefits of its Oracle-based core banking platform overhaul to the financial markets, following rival the Commonwealth Bank in arguing that its own modernisation and simplification program will bring significant business benefits that will affect its customers and its bottom line.
Board-level dialogue key to NAB Oracle overhaul
One of Oracle’s most senior executives has labeled board-level engagement between the giant US vendor and local customer National Australia Bank as having been key to the bank’s unusual Oracle-based core banking IT upgrade project, which has seen the vendor develop its software with the direct input of NAB.
DiData lands Aussie customer for new cloud
Global IT services outfit Dimension Data has announced a new range of global cloud services, simultaneously revealing it has signed up the Australian Centre for Advanced Computing and Communications to use the platform.
TechOne’s CRM package a hit
Australian software vendor TechnologyOne this week revealed it had landed five major local deals in the last quarter for its customer relationship management (CRM) software. The vendor's solution is set to replace a rival Microsoft platform at one of these sites, and believes its CRM solution be in use by over 10,000 people in the near future.
Asciano upgrades “entire” IT infrastructure
Port and rail operator Asciano has revealed a wide-ranging plan to upgrade its “entire” IT infrastructure and applications stack, in a move which will see a broad tranche of technology platforms modernised with the assistance of Japanese diversified IT services giant Fujitsu.
ICAC finds Sydney University IT manager corrupt
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has found that University of Sydney information technology (IT) manager Atilla "Todd" Demiralay engaged in corrupt conduct by using Succuro Recruitment, a business that employed his wife and later operated through a company in which he and his wife had a financial interest, to recruit contractors and staff for the university, without disclosing his financial interest in the business.
Village Roadshow goes cloud with Interactive, NetApp
Village Roadshow, the Melbourne-based company that has been entertaining Australians since 1954 with theme parks, resorts and attractions, cinemas, music and DVD distribution, has moved its data storage to the cloud. The Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) data centre model for Village Roadshow was built on NetApp hardware and provided by service provider Interactive to manage Village Roadshow’s substantial data growth.
Wells quits Avaya for SaaS firm Workday
Australian IT industry stalwart Rob Wells has quit his post as the managing director of Avaya's Australian operations and will instead establish the local division of Software as a Service business software group Workday.
Microsoft breaks Telstra Office 365 monopoly
Technology giant Microsoft has revealed plans to break the monopoly which its partner Telstra has on selling its Office 365 software as a service productivity suite in Australia, in a move which will widen the software's ecosystem substantially.
Australian Govt re-kindles office file format war
The Federal Government's peak IT strategy group has issued a cautious updated appraisal of currently available office productivity suite file formats, in what appears to be an attempt to more fully explain its thinking about the merits of open standards such as OpenDocument versus more proprietary file formats promulgated by vendors like Microsoft.
Farce: Adobe CEO flatly refuses Australian price questions (video)
The chief executive of global software vendor Adobe, Shantanu Narayen, has refused to directly address questions regarding price markups that can see Australians pay up to $1,400 more than US residents for the company's software, in a press conference in Sydney this morning which at times threatened to descend into a farce.
Disastrous patch cripples CommBank
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is currently reeling with internal chaos and some service delivery problems, following what appears to be a disastrous mis-application of an operating system patch to thousands of desktop PCs and hundreds of servers last week.
“Morons”: Freelancer CEO wants ACS disbanded
The outspoken chief executive of crowdsourcing company Freelancer.com has posted an extensive diatribe online calling for the Australian Computer Society to be disbanded, describing the professional body as a "joke" and being run by "f*cking morons".
US slams Australia’s on-shore cloud fixation
The United States' global trade representative has strongly criticised a perceived preference on the part of large Australian organisations for hosting their data on-shore in Australia, claiming it created a significant trade barrier for US technology firms and was based on a misinterpretation of the US Patriot Act.
Google Australia: ~$1bn in revenue, $74k in tax
Search giant Google has revealed it expects to pay just $74,000 in corporate income tax for the 2011 calendar year in Australia, off claimed local revenues of $201 million, despite the fact that industry estimates have continually pegged the search giant's Australian income at closer to $1 billion.
IBM says it “successfully delivered” Qld Health payroll
Global technology giant IBM has written to the new LNP Queensland Government claiming it “successfully delivered” against milestones agreed with the previous Labor administration with respect to the disastrous payroll systems overhaul at Queensland Health, which has already cost the state $417 million and will need another $837 million to fix over the next five years.
Adobe’s biennial tradition: 50% Aussie price hikes
Global software giant Adobe has continued a long-running tradition of extensively marking up its prices for the Australian market, revealing yesterday that locals would pay up to $1,400 more for the exact same software when they buy the new version 6 of its Creative Suite platform compared to residents of the United States.
IT sector abusing 457 visa program, says Gillard
Julia Gillard this morning stated that the nation's IT sector was taking jobs away from Australians by importing foreign workers en-masse under the 457 visa program, a situation which the Prime Minister said was "just not acceptable".
Victoria starts airing its IT dirty laundry
The Victorian State Government has over the past month started holding hearings which touch in depth on the wide-ranging IT project delivery issues which have resulted in the state’s departments and agencies broadly failing to deliver ten major IT projects over the past half-decade.
When mainstream media covers cloud startups
Hilarious video above of a segment broadcast recently on Channel 10 news about Australian cloud computing startup OrionVM.
IT’S ON: Govt sets up IT price hike inquiry
Price-hiking technology vendors are set to be hauled before Australia's Parliament to justify their local markups, with Communications Minister Stephen Conroy confirming the Government will hold an official parliamentary inquiry into the issue, following a long-running campaign on the issue by Federal Labor MP Ed Husic.
Last chance: Microsoft plans huge Win8 price hike
Microsoft Australia has confirmed that Australians have only several more days to buy its new Windows 8 operating system at promotional prices before it hikes its prices on the software massively as at the 1st of February.
“SYSTEMIC BUSINESS RISK”: 90% of Qld Govt’s ICT needs to be replaced Total cost:...
Ninety percent of the Queensland Government's ICT systems are outdated and will require replacement within five years at a total cost of $7.4 billion, the state's first comprehensive ICT audit released today revealed, as Queensland continues to grapple with the catastrophic outcome of years of "chronic underfunding" into its dilapidated ICT infrastructure.
Vendors unimpressed by IT price hike inquiry
A number of global technology vendors likely to be hauled before Australia's Parliament to justify their local price markups have grudgingly and briefly signalled their acceptance of the proceedings and willingness to participate, although some have completely refused to comment on the issue.
Victorian high school deploys Android tablets
Students and staff of years 9–12 at Brighton Grammar School, Victoria will each be provided with an Acer Iconia Tab A500, from this week onwards, Acer revealed in a statement yesterday. The move is part of what is being publicised as the first large Android program for an Australian school.
“Obstruction, avoidance and evasion”: IT giants stonewall price inquiry
Members of Parliament from both major sides of politics have very publicly blasted global technology giants such as Apple, Adobe and Microsoft and even representative group the Australian Information Industry Association, for what they described as “deep reluctance and resistance” to give evidence before a parliamentary committee investigating local IT price hikes.
News Corp Australia dumps Exchange for Gmail
The new chief technology officer of publishing giant News Corp Australia has wasted no time making big changes to the organisation's IT infrastructure model, announcing a huge formal move to Google's mail and calendaring suite just months after taking on the position.
The ABC didn’t sack Bitcoin miner
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation didn't fire an un-named IT worker who attempted to use the broadcaster's vast server infrastructure to make himself a fortune through the Bitcoin virtual currency system, it has emerged, with the employee merely being disciplined and having their access to certain IT systems restricted.
Qld Health payroll fix may cost $440m
The Australian newspaper has reported that the cost of fixing Queensland Health's botched payroll systems implementation may rise eventually to $440 million.
IT price comparisons not useful, says AIIA
The IT industry's peak lobby group today said it was "not useful" to directly compare prices on technology goods and services between Australia and other countries and that increased Australian prices on such goods reflected different conditions and protections locally compared with other countries.
Coalition IT policy: Quite similar to Labor’s
The Coalition has released a wide-ranging policy on how it would develop Australia's digital economy and government use of IT, in a move which broadly appears to place it on an even footing with the current Labor Federal Government and commit it to many of the same existing initiatives.
Qld school iPad trial a strong success
Queensland’s education department has published several extensive reports detailing recent trials of iPads within the classroom, with the documents overwhelmingly classing the Apple tablets as a success, including in their ability to help students improve their academic performance.
Adobe misleads IT price hike inquiry
Adobe appears to have given a number of misleading and highly contestable answers to key questions posed to the software giant by the Federal Parliament's inquiry into IT price hikes in the Australian market, in a move which builds on questions currently being debated about the company's future relationship with its customers.
Disaster ahead? NSW Govt unveils massive SaaS ERP consolidation
The New South Wales State Government has unveiled plans for a massive technology-led project to consolidate a number of different enterprise resource planning systems onto just two new platforms, in a style of project which has historically led to cost blow-outs and extended project delays for similar initiatives accross Australian State Governments.
Costello says Qld should sell IT services units
A landmark report into the Queensland Government's financial position penned by Howard-era Treasurer Peter Costello has recommended the state government consider selling off its IT shared services unit, as there was no guarantee they could provide IT services to the government efficiently.
Drastic govt measures needed: IT price hike report pulls no punches
The Federal Parliament committee examining IT price hikes in Australia has published an extensive report recommending a raft of drastic measures to deal with current practices in the area, which, the report says, are seeing Australians unfairly slugged with price increases of up to 50 percent on key technology goods and services.
Locking Apple, Microsoft out: Electoral commissions want 6,000 Android tablets
Apple and Microsoft might be kicking goals when it comes to corporate tablet deployments, but one group of Australian state government agencies has baldly stated they prefer neither: Instead going to market for almost 6,000 tablets specifically using Google’s Android operating system.
“Chaos” in NSW Govt IT shared services
A landmark report into the management of the NSW Public Sector commissioned by the state's new Coalition Government has described how dozens of overlapping and competing systems and services providers have created "chaos" when it comes to the state's current IT shared services paradigm.
Australian Govt has “cloud last” policy, says Ovum
The Federal Government has taken a "cloud-last" position on the adoption of the new generation of cloud computing technologies, analyst firm Ovum said today, as it lacked a clear vision of the benefits of the cloud computing model, but was very clear about its risks.
Qld Transport in huge IT infrastructure refresh
Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads has kicked off an extremely wide-ranging refresh of its underlying desktop IT infrastructure which is slated to see legacy products such as Lotus Notes, IBM Sametime, Windows XP and Novell's file, print and application deployment software replaced with more popular and updated equivalents.
Reversal: Australian Govt picks ODF doc standard
In a move which appears to reverse its previous approach based on Microsoft's file formats, the Australian Government's central IT decision-making agency appears to have decided that it will standardise its office documents on the Open Document Format going forward.
Immigration dumps Lotus in Microsoft focus
The Federal Department of Immigration and Citizenship has revealed as part of documents associated with a major IT outsourcing initiative that it is midway through the process of migrating off its Lotus Notes/Domino email platform and onto Microsoft's rival Outlook/Exchange system, as well as a number of other modernisation initiatives.
CommBank standardises in-house fleet on iPhone
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has revealed that it will standardise its mobile phone fleet on Apple’s iPhone platform, as it progresses plans to move away from its
high-profile softphone-based unified communications strategy recently implemented at its flagship Commonwealth Bank Place facility in Sydney.
CommBank ditches softphone strategy for smartphones
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has confirmed plans to substantially modify its high-profile softphone-based unified communications strategy recently implemented at its flagship Commonwealth Bank Place facility in Sydney, turning instead to a mass smartphone deployment as its replacement.
Fire + Rescue NSW deploys 400 Chromeboxes
Emergency service Fire and Rescue NSW has revealed it has dumped a number of traditional desktop PCs and plans to ditch more, as part of a widespread deployment of Google’s Chromebox cloud-based desktop platform which has so far seen some 400 of the gadgets deployed to fire stations throughout the state.
Microsoft stonewalls IT price hike inquiry
Global technology giant Microsoft has declined to provide the Federal Parliament's IT price hike inquiry with concrete details as to why many of its products cost dramatically more in Australia than in its home country of the US, despite prolonged questioning on the issue from Members of Parliament last week.
Qld Govt censors ICT audit, but makes progress on ICT strategy
Over the past month, the Queensland State Government has repeatedly declined to release the whole of government ICT audit it conducted last year. However, there are signs the state is making progress on plans to address wide-spread problems in ICT project and service delivery which have bedevilled many of its departments and agencies over the past half-decade.
Telstra’s cloud computing suffers 24 hour outage
Telstra has confirmed that it suffered a major outage in its high-end corporate cloud computing platform last week that left a number of its most high-profile customers without some of their services for a period as long as 24 hours.
Victorian school may deploy 3,500 iPads
Independent Melbourne school Haileybury has already rolled out 1,000 iPads to staff members and students throughout its three campuses in the Victorian capital and may roll out several thousand more as it attempts to take advantage of the Apple technology in education.
Parliament’s IT systems a complete shambles
The department which runs Australia's Federal Parliament has published a damning report acknowledging it has widespread problems with IT service delivery and infrastructure, stemming from the fact that it has "no parliament-wide IT strategic plan" and no mechanism for making strategic IT decisions, despite a decade of reports warning of the situation.
Another Lotus migration: Caltex details huge Office 365, Windows 7 rollout
Petrol and convenience store retailer Caltex has revealed it has completed a large migration away from IBM's ailing Lotus Notes/Domino platform and onto Microsoft's Office 365 cloud email system, alongside other associated technology deployments such as an upgrade of the company's desktops to Windows 7.
CommBank unveils Square payments rival
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia this morning revealed several devices and an application development platform that together constitute an ecosystem similar to the Square mobile payments system which is becoming popular in the US for transactions at merchants such as retailers, restaurants and cafes.
Govt IT buyers “struggling” with pace of change
Government departments and agencies are "struggling to keep up" with the pace of change in the technology sector, analyst firm Ovum said in a research note issued this month, with the rapidly evolving technology landscape outpacing the speed of procurement cycles.
NSW Govt trials Gmail, MS cloud email
The New South Wales State Government has revealed that it will trial both Google- and Microsoft-based cloud email platforms, as its interest in the new cloud computing paradigm continues to develop.
“Criminal neglect”: Qld Govt IT fixes to cost up to $6 billion
Queensland’s new IT Minister Ros Bates said this week it would cost the state between $3.7 billion and $6 billion replace the “mess of mismatched, miscellaneous and duplicated [ICT] systems” which the previous Labor administration had left the state with.
NSW Govt launches Opal card on ferries
However, the new Coalition Government in NSW over the weekend shone a ray of light into the public transport smartcard ticketing situation, with the new Opal smartcard being launched on Sydney ferries, to start with.
BANNED: Qld Govt outlaws new IBM contracts
The Queensland Government has explicitly banned its departments and agencies from entering into any new contracts with diversified IT products and services company IBM until the company demonstrates that it has improved its governance and contracting practices, in an extraordinary move taking place in the wake of the Queensland Health payroll disaster which IBM held a key role in.
Bloodbath: Qld Govt sacks one quarter of IT staff
The Queensland Government has cut its information technology workforce by about a quarter in just a year, the state's Public Service Commission has revealed, in startling figures that come as the state is grappling with substantial problems with fundamental IT project and service delivery.
Vic Govt opens IT offshoring door
The Victorian Department of Human Services has reportedly investigated handing the re-development of its troubled client and case management system to an offshore provider in the popular IT outsourcing country of India, in one of the first signals that the state recognises the unsustainable nature of its current onshored resources.
Bloodbath: Qantas to cut $200m in IT costs, jobs
Embattled airline Qantas has flagged plans to cut $200 million out of its technology budget over the next three years and undertake reviews of its major technology supplier contracts, as part of a company-wide cost-cutting initiative that will see a total 5,000 staff leave the company and some $2 billion in total costs cut.
Cloud could help fix Govt IT paradigm: Hodgkinson
Independent analyst firm Ovum said this week that developing and maintaining ICT capabilities constitutes an ongoing challenge for government agencies, with one of the organisation's Australian public sector specialists noting that the utilisation of cloud computing services could provide an edge in an “unsustainable game of ICT snakes and ladders being played by many government agencies”.
“Billions”: Hockey greenlights Centrelink core replacement
Treasurer Joe Hockey has strongly hinted that the upcoming Federal Budget will include "billions" of dollars worth of funding for a core systems replacement at the Centrelink division of the Department of Human Services (DHS), in a move that represents one of the Federal Government's most long-awaited and largest IT project approvals.
VIC GOVERNMENT IT IN FLAMES: $1.4 billion over budget, all projects late or failed
Victoria's Ombudsman has handed down one of the most damning assessments of public sector IT project governance in Australia's history, noting total cost over-runs of $1.44 billion, extensive delays and a general failure to actually deliver on stated aims in 10 major IT projects carried out by the state over the past half-decade.
Qld Govt inks $26.5m deal for Office 365
The Queensland State Government yesterday announced it had signed a $26.5 million deal with Microsoft which will gain the state access to Microsoft's Office 365 software and services platform. However, with the deal not covering operating system licences and not being mandatory for departments and agencies, it remains unclear what its impact will be.
Purge: Qld Govt cuts 384 IT contractors
The new LNP Queensland State Government today revealed that it had terminated the contracts of some 384 technology contractors in total over the past few months, as it ramps up its drive to slash technology-related spending while simultaneously remediating dated IT systems left to languish by the previous Labor administration.
Qantas still finalising Outlook shift
The nation's largest airline Qantas has revealed that it's still in the process of migrating its corporate email platform off IBM's Lotus Notes/Domino platform and onto Microsoft's Outlook/Exchange system, with the rollout now into its fourth year.
“Abomination”: Qld Health payroll needs $837m more
A KMPG audit into Queensland Health's payroll disaster has found the project has already cost $417 million and will need some $837 million to fix over the next five years, in a finding which the state's new LNP Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said in Parliament this week illustrated that the project was an "abomination".
“Nepotism”: Audit blasts CenITex culture
Victoria’s Ombudsman today published a damning report into procurement practices and the engagement of contractors at the state’s IT shared services agency CenITex, finding examples of “nepotism and favouritism” in the company, as well as more serious improper conduct and poor procedures for handling CenITex’s large contractor workforce.
St George trials Apple iBeacon in branches
Westpac subsidiary St George Bank has revealed plans to deploy a trial of Apple's iBeacon technology in three Sydney branches, in a move which will see customers' iPhones sent a welcome message and "tailored information" when they enter a branch.
Commission of Audit backs high-risk shared services schemes
The new Coalition Government’s Commission of Audit (CoA) has recommended the Federal Government investigate the same kind of whole of government shared corporate services scheme which have abjectly failed most Australian State Governments over the past half-decade and resulted in widespread IT service delivery problems.
IT price hike inquiry may subpoena rebel vendors
Labor MP Ed Husic has publicly raised the prospect of forcing recalcitrant technology vendors to appear before a parliamentary committee on IT price hikes in Australia, alleging that some suppliers are "treating the Parliament with contempt".
DoHA latest to ditch Lotus Notes for Exchange
The Federal Department of Health and Ageing has revealed it will be the latest Australian government agency to dump IBM's Lotus Notes/Domino environment in favour of a switch to a collaboration platform built on the Outlook/Exchange ecosystem, as part of a continuing trend of migrations to the Microsoft platform.
Back to the future: Qld kickstarts payroll consolidation
The new LNP Queensland State Government has revealed plans to consolidate eight "outmoded and heavily customised" payroll IT systems into one outsourced system, in a move which will re-ignite the debate over how the state should provide core IT services supporting administrative functions to its various departments and agencies.
Qld launches whole of government IaaS panel
The Queensland State Government has gone to market to set up a whole of government cloud computing panel which would allow its many departments and agencies to purchase IT infrastructure services in this category from a set list of suppliers.
Victoria releases concrete, detailed ICT strategy
The Victorian State Government has released the final version of a new whole of government information and communications technology strategy containing hard deadlines for goals, with which it aims to start addressing extensive IT project and service delivery issues which have resulted in more than a billion dollars in budget overruns and a string of failed IT projects over the past half-decade.
Kundra reforms hit Queensland: State Govt pledges ‘cloud first’, IT dashboard
The Queensland Government has committed to adopting two of the most radical measures implemented by then-US Government chief information officer Vivek Kundra in the Obama administration's first term, as it grapples with a government-wide ICT Audit released last week that starkly demonstrates the potential for further disasters akin to the Queensland Health payroll catastrophe.
Westpac launches Android NFC payments app
Westpac Banking Corporation has joined the throng of Australian financial services giants attempting to stay ahead of the growing trend towards payments from mobile phones, launching an app yesterday that will allow those with Android smartphones to make mobile payments through their embedded NFC chip.
“No public interest” in PCEHR review release
The Department of Health has stated it does not believe there is a public interest case for the Federal Government's review of the troubled Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records project to be released publicly, despite the fact that Health Minister Peter Dutton has stated the document contains "a comprehensive plan for the future of electronic health records in Australia".
ADFA hack a national security failure: expert
According to media reports, a single hacker from the Anonymous group, calling himself Darwinare, released online the names, birthdays and passwords of 20,000 staff and students from a university database at the Australian Defence Force Academy.
HP opens giant NSW datacentre (photos)
Global technology giant HP yesterday opened its colossal $119 million new datacentre in Western Sydney, revealing that it had dubbed the new facility "Aurora".
NT dumps failed Fujitsu/SAP project
The Northern Territory Government has decided to dump its broken Asset Management System (AMS) developed by Fujitsu and based on SAP software, after receiving independent advice that it would cost an additional $120 million and five years to fix.
NSW kickstarts cloud email, virtual desktop trial
The New South Wales State Government today kicked off two trials of virtual desktop and cloud email services, in a move which could eventually signal a mass migration of some 30,000 government users into the cloud and which represents one of the first concrete steps by the state into the new cloud computing landscape.
Microsoft may can giant TechEd in Australia
Software giant Microsoft is considering a radical overhaul to its giant TechEd event in Australia that would essentially spell the end of the iconic conference in its traditional mega-format, with the company instead believed to be considering a series of smaller conferences around Australia in its place.
Offshore cloud an adoption barrier, finds KPMG
A research study partially funded by major offshore cloud computing vendors Salesforce.com, Microsoft, and Google has found that one of the major barriers stopping Australian organisations from migrating to cloud computing platforms is the lack of cloud infrastructure based in Australia, with legislation such as the US Patriot Act cited as key concerns with offshore hosting.
Cisco issues 9.2 percent Aussie price rise
Networking hardware giant Cisco has slapped a blanket 9.2 percent price increase on all of its products and services in Australia, giving its customers and partners just one month's notice of the price rise.