August 2009

ALIA submission to Government 2.0 Taskforce on Towards Government 2.0

Submitted by ALIA Public Sector Information Advisory Committee

Introduction
Libraries and information services have a fundamental concern for the preservation of information contained in the published and documentary record in order to ensure enduring access. ALIA is committed to the preservation of the published and documentary record in all formats, and to ensuring enduring access to information.

ALIA's policy on access to government information notes:
Government information helps to educate people, stimulate progress and solve complex economic, scientific and social problems. With many new technologies, however, government information has expanded so quickly that basic principles regarding its creation, use and dissemination are in danger of being neglected and even forgotten.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) believes government information should be recognised as a national resource to be developed and preserved in the public interest. ALIA defines government information as information created, compiled, commissioned and/or maintained by all levels of government. ALIA asserts that government information should be publicly available except where restricted by law and offers the following Principles of Access to Government Information.

ALIA's principles for access to government information include:
The public has the right of access to government information. Government agencies should guarantee open, timely and uninhibited access to government information regardless of format.

Governments should guarantee the integrity and preservation of government information, regardless of format (for example, electronic formats). By maintaining government information in the face of changing times and technologies, government agencies assure government accountability and the accessibility of government business to the public.

This submission highlights three major issues: connectivity, content and capability and provides comments on some of the questions raised in the discussion paper.

Click here to view the ALIA submission [ pdf 208KB ]

All submissions in response to the Productivity Commission's issues paper are available here: http://gov2.net.au/submissions/
Government 2.0 issues paper http://gov2.net.au/blog/2009/07/23/official-issues-paper-released/

Engage: Getting on with Government 2.0 - Report of the Government 2.0
Taskforce http://www.finance.gov.au/publications/gov20taskforcereport/index.html

Government Response to the Report of the Government 2.0 Taskforce
http://www.finance.gov.au/publications/govresponse20report/index.html