Distributed government bureaucracy : a proposed approach to developing regional communities in Queensland using ICT

This paper furthers discussion on ways to develop regional communities. Although much well-intentioned research and government expenditure has been made in this area, it seems to have produced only marginal improvement to the overall well-being of most regional communities in Queensland. The career employment spectrum in every region outside South-East Queensland (SEQ) is becoming increasingly disjointed, with consequent long-term detrimental effects on regional strength and well-being. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) now presents the possibility of enabling significant improvement to be made. The proposal is made that a government employment approach throughout Queensland based on distributed government bureaucracy enabled by judicious use of ICT will significantly improve regional development as well as the long-term development of Queensland. This proposal will however, require strong top-level political and bureaucratic will, leadership, communication, and support, if it is to succeed.