Curbing the Great Government ICT Spend
Curbing the Great Government ICT Spend
April 16, 2008: Sir Peter Gershon, famous for his cost-slashing reform of the UK Government has been chosen to lead an independent review of the Australian Government’s ICT spending.
Lindsay Tanner, Minister for Finance and Deregulation has appointed Sir Peter Gershon as the head of the Management of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) review. The probe aims to identify ways to cut costs and squeeze more efficiency out of existing arrangements.
“The Australian Government has approximately $10 billion in ICT assets and spends around $6 billion per annum on ICT encompassing procurement, maintenance, development and staff costs. Under the Howard Government this spending was completely uncoordinated leading to serious inefficiencies and cost blowouts,” said Tanner.
Sir Peter Gershon comes from a highly successful review of UK Government spending which netted a £23 Billion (AU $48.7 Billion) in budgeted costs savings, the reform was so successful that it landed Gershon a tap on the shoulder from the royal sword for his trouble.
"Sir Peter’s track record at the most senior levels of both industry and government in the UK speaks for itself,” said Tanner. “His expertise as an industry leader, strategist and highly effective reviewer of public administration makes him a compelling candidate to review the way in which the Australian Government manages its use of ICT."