A raft of reforms unveiled by Queensland Premier, Campbell Newman, is set to create an open data revolution in Queensland – with plans to make government data more accessible for citizens and the industry. 

Under the government’s just-released ICT reforms agenda, an e-government initiative is being rolled, out, including a new web site offering a portal into announcements and policy updates.

Ray Stevens, Queensland’s Member for Mermaid, takes up the role of Assistant Minister to Premier Newman, managing a newly-created e-government portfolio. This latest appointment opens up avenues for informed discussion and debate between government, industry and community stakeholders.

Premier Newman said his administration is “determined to change the culture of the Queensland Government.”

The aim is to build up open government, at the same time, offering access to information collected across regions, in all kinds of formats, and for all kinds of reasons.

In the past, governments gave away land to stimulate economic development. “Now information is the new currency,” Premier Newman said.

“Open access to information held by the State Government will help stimulate the development of new, innovative applications by all sorts of private individuals, companies and non-government organisations,” he noted.

He added that examples of the types of information that can be released include location information for ‘trackable’ government vehicles such as buses, trains and ferries, road usage data, crime and accident statistics, speed camera locations and hospital statistics.

Under future arrangement, incoming Assistant Minister, Ray Stevens, will work alongside the Queensland Premier and Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, Ms Ros Bates. This partnership will help deliver Queensland’s “information revolution.”

Among other reforms, an Open Data Reform Group is being formed. This group galvanises the Director-Generals of all Queensland Government departments – with a mandate to lead culture change across the administration.

The Open Data Reform Group will seek feedback from the public and the ICT sector on what kinds of data, and what formats they need to develop solutions.

“Once we make more data accessible, the Queensland Government will be encouraging application and solution development through new competitions and incentives,” Premier Newman said.