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Australian Report On Progress Towards the Paperless Trading GoalsIn APEC¡¦s Blueprint for Action on Electronic Commerce
Corporation has an electronic booking system for vessels ¡¥Harbour Management System¡¨. It is also in final testing of Dangerous Goods electronic messages (international standard PROTECT).
ITA
Australia is a participant in the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), which was announced in the Ministerial Declaration on Trade in Information Technology Products (Singapore, December 1996). This Agreement, which had its origins in APEC, provides for the elimination of tariffs on information technology (IT) products and consultations on non-tariff barriers to trade in IT products. By liberalising trade in products, the Agreement has increased the availability of IT to participating economies, thus underpinning the development of electronic commerce and other aspects of the information economy. Also, the results of the Negotiations on Basic Telecommunications Services under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) are associated with reduced cost of access to the Internet and with the growth of electronic commerce. In Australia's case, a major Government (NOIE) study ¡§E-Commerce Beyond 2000¡¨ (http://www.noie.gov.au/beyond2000 ) has found that electronic commerce will significantly add to the gross national product.
2.Examples of Best Practice
Please identify any programs instituted domestically or with other regional economies which you believe are examples of best practice and may be of interest to other APEC economies, including, for example:
Initiatives in specific agencies or localities
Gatekeeper ¡V Public Key Infrastructure
The use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) provides authentication, confidentiality, and non-repudiation in online interactions between Government, business, and the community in a manner that ensures interoperability and consistency of standards. Gatekeeper (http://www.ogo.gov.au/projects/publickey/Gatekeeper.htm ) is the Commonwealth strategy for the use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and a key enabler for the delivery of Government online. Gatekeeper also leads by example to encourage the uptake of e-commerce in the private sector.
The Government Public Key Authority(GPKA) reports to the Chief Executive, Office for Government Online on the operation of the Government Public Key Infrastructure, manages the evaluation and accreditation of service providers to government and promotes the Commonwealth Government position on the use of public key technology. The GPKA is supported by a Secretariat, which provides a first point of contact for agencies, industry and other organisations and manages the accreditation process.
Supermarket to Asia
In 1997/98 food exports to Asian countries accounted for 60 per cent of an $18 billion food export industry. They are therefore an important part of the Australian economy. Supermarket to Asia (www.supermarkettoasia.com.au ) is a Government initiative aimed at promoting the export of food products to Asia. As part of the overall initiative, two projects specifically have introduced e-commerce systems into export industries: the introduction of a single electronic window, and FoodConnect Australia.
Single Electronic Window
The Single Electronic Window resulted from joint Industry and Government efforts to reduce the red tape involved with export clearance for meat, agricultural and fish products.
Previously exporters had to send information to both the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) and Australian Customs Service in order to obtain export approval. Because about 85 per cent of the information required by the two organisations is the same, exporters used [next page]