Initiative 3: 'Tasinformatics' Centre of Excellence

Agreement was reached on the draft legal documentation for a Centre of Excellence in health informatics and bioinformatics - Tasinformatics at the University Council meeting of 23 July 2004.  Following this, the Intelligent Island Project Executive (IIPE) agreed to the draft governing documents, pending final negotiations with members of the former Intelligent Island Board.

As agreed at the April 2004 Intelligent Island Board meeting, the IIPE sought the assistance of the former Chairman, Mr Neville Roach AO in the finalisation of the Grant Deed and associated documents.  As an additional step, the IIPE agreed to consult with Senator Harradine, particularly on the matter of ethics and privacy considerations. 

At the completion of negotiations with Mr Roach the IIPE received written support to proceed with the proposal, noting that Senator Harradine was continuing negotiation on ethics matters on behalf of the former Board.

Extensive and protracted negotiations between Senator Brian Harradine, the University of Tasmania and the Australian Government were undertaken with respect to the proposed ethical framework for Tasinformatics.

Although both the University of Tasmania and the Tasmanian Government agreed to most ethics provisions, negotiations failed to resolve some outstanding issues regarding the ethics framework. 

On 25 February 2005, the Department of Communications, IT and the Arts (DCITA) advised that the Australian Government did not accept the position of the University of Tasmania regarding inclusion of the outstanding ethics clause involving the use of data sourced from human embryos, or its alternative suggestions.

Both parties then considered the possibility of alternative governance models for the establishment of Tasinformatics as a means of resolving the impasse.  No resolution was reached.

The University of Tasmania confirmed it could not proceed with the establishment of Tasinformatics and a formal announcement was made by both the Australian and Tasmanian Governments, and the University of Tasmania on 18 April 2005.

At a 5 May 2005 IIPE officer meeting, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism announced that it would undertake a consultation process with the Tasmanian ICT Industry and its stakeholders to reassess the landscape and strategic priorities of the industry.

On 8 June 2005, the Department released an ICT Industry Discussion Paper to inform consideration of how Intelligent Island funding, realised since the decision not to proceed with Tasinformatics, could be used to benefit the ICT industry further.  The paper recognised key challenges and opportunities in the Tasmanian context, and proposed a range of mechanisms to assist companies at critical points on the path to growth.

Through the consultation process, the industry has overwhelmingly indicated that it believes intervention to target four strategic areas – partnership development, the enhancement of management skills, market development and business and product development – would result in a more reliable growth of the Tasmanian ICT industry than would an investment into a single research entity.

The Tasmanian and Australian Governments have been working with the Tasmanian ICT industry to develop a strategy for the reallocation of program funds.  This strategy includes an allocation of $15 million to CSIRO for the establishment of an ICT Research Centre in Tasmania and up to $18 million for a merit-based industry development grant program, entitled Market Access and Partnership Program (MAPP).