Trust issues pave way to online government

By ADAM GIFFORD

The Cabinet has agreed on authentication principles for its e-government initiatives, clearing the way for more than 1000 Government services to be placed online over the next couple of years.

Brendon Boyle, head of the e-government unit in the State Services Commission, said members of his team were now mapping the services, which involve 65 agencies, and working out the level of trust and authentication required for each.

"A lot will be information-based services, but where there are transactions there may be a need for digital certificates or biometrics," Boyle said.

Trevor Mallard, the minister responsible for e-government, said prior authentication of identity would be necessary for any electronic interactions involving the sharing of personal information, such as income tax queries, student loan applications or fine payments.

"When the e-government programme moves into its online transaction stage, New Zealanders must have confidence that their personal privacy is not being breached, and agencies must have confidence that they are delivering information and services to the correct person," Mallard said.

The unit is expected to report back to the Government on authentication protocols and methods by June 2003.

Boyle said his unit was making steady progress and was not concerned about a report released yesterday by global consulting firm Accenture, which rated New Zealand number 14 in world e-government rankings, five places lower than last year.

"New Zealand is leading the 'emerging performers' category, which is an appropriate position, given that our approach over the past year has been to ensure we have the basics right before the e-government portal goes live in July," he said.

The new portal, being built with help from Datacom and CWA New Media, will initially concentrate on providing information about services. It will gradually be upgraded to allow transactions, depending on demand and the value to users.

The portal will also link to more than 2500 resources application forms and information brochures which can be downloaded.

Boyle said the state sector had learned a lot about authentication since early efforts like Inland Revenue's initial foray into digital certificates, which proved cumbersome and expensive.

The e-government unit has developed protocols for secure exchange of digital information between Government agencies.

"We have been using digital certificates internally, and what we have learned from that will feed into the implementation piece," Boyle said.

The Government wants to avoid over-engineering, recognising that the levels of authentication needed for many transactions will be relatively low. It is also committed to a principle of "opt-in", in which citizens retain the option of authenticating their identity and carrying out transactions offline without being disadvantaged.

Many of the authentication processes are expected to be similar to those adopted by the banking industry.