Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Digital Transformation) Share this | Hansard source

I would appreciate that courtesy, because I've actually got very important things to say about the portfolio of Prime Minister and Cabinet. This is a good opportunity for me to make this opening statement to the committee to hopefully set the tone and the content of the debate.

The Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio has 14 agencies that receive funding from the government. The 2018-19 budget provided the portfolio with appropriations for ordinary annual services of $2.1 billion in the 2018-19 year. The average staffing level for the portfolio is 5,241. The 2018-19 budget included 11 budget measures led by the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio. This includes a number of measures that support key policy initiatives for the government, particularly investment in data, digital transformation, and national and international security.

The government provided funding of $92.4 million in 2018-19 to accelerate the implementation of Govpass, which is our digital identity system and a vitally important building block for our digital future. Govpass will allow people to verify who they are and access government services online in a simple and secure way. The Govpass program is a key component in the ongoing digital transformation of government and supports the government's commitment to better and more accessible digital services. The Digital Transformation Agency will work with relevant agencies to test Govpass across a range of services.

In addition to this, funding of $700,000 is also committed in the 2018-19 year to investigate areas where blockchain technology could offer the most value for government services. Obviously, the potential for blockchain in the way we deliver our services, particularly within the welfare system, is large, and we're very keen to investigate those opportunities. The cost of this measure will be met from within existing resources of the Digital Transformation Agency.

The government will provide further funding to various agencies to more effectively serve Australia's national security needs. In response to the recommendations of the 2017 Independent intelligence review, the Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security will be augmented to oversee the activities of all agencies within the national intelligence community. The Attorney-General's Department and the Office of Parliamentary Counsel will undertake a comprehensive review of the legal framework governing Australia's national intelligence community and related oversight bodies, and the government will establish a joint capability fund to facilitate greater integration of Australia's intelligence capabilities. These reforms build on implementation measures announced at the 2017-18 MYEFO, and they are driven by serious threats to Australia's security and the government's determination to keep Australians safe and secure.

From 2018-19, the government will provide $20.5 million over four years to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This funding will be used to implement new data governance arrangements in line with the recommendations made by the Productivity Commission in its 2017 report Data availability and use. A data sharing and release framework underpinned by legislation will be developed and administered by the newly established National Data Commissioner. These reforms will ensure data safeguards are implemented to build public trust while ensuring the benefits of enhanced sharing and release of data are achieved by the Australian public.

I'm at pains to say that the conversation around data in Australia shouldn't be one that's based on all the risks that are associated with this amazing surge in information that we are living through at the moment. Ninety per cent of the world's information has been created within the past two years, and this creates wonderful opportunities for the Australian government to use that data to better understand what it means for us to make better decisions on behalf of the Australian people

In May 2018 the Prime Minister announced a review of the Australian Public Service to ensure that it is best placed to serve the Australian government and the Australian people into the future. To facilitate this review, we've allocated $9.8 million over two years to undertake this important body of work with the cost being managed within the existing resources of the department.

The government has also allocated funding of $23.3 million over two years to enhance the capability of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. This will support PM&C's role in furthering the government's domestic and international policy agendas, including national security, trade, infrastructure and Indigenous affairs. That is the end of my time, and I thank the chamber for the opportunity to outline the things that we are doing— (Time expired)

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