The new Smartcard seems to have given the government’s budget expenditure on information technology a bit of a boost. Hopefully they realise that replacing 17 cards with 1 is a whole lot more difficult than it sounds when you say it really fast.Â
ZDNet has an overview on the implications of 2006’s budget on the technology industry, as does Australian IT. Department of Communication, Information Technology, and the Arts has its wrap-up here (predictably positive): Budget at a Glance. A quick glance at party-politic websites finds no specific responses to issues around technology, as yet, as contained in the budget.Â
The big deal seems very much to be on the adjusted depreciation schedules on business – the diminishing value for assets including computers has gone from 150 percent to 200 percent. This ‘merely’ reflects the real decline in asset value, particularly for technology – which alone should be pretty good for business.