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Differences between current version and predecessor to the previous major change of ParliamentaryQuestions.

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Newer page: version 31 Last edited on Tuesday, June 28, 2005 12:14:17 am by MattBrown
Older page: version 27 Last edited on Tuesday, April 5, 2005 12:52:44 am by MattBrown Revert
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 ! Research Funding for Open Source Software 
 Question Directed To: Hon. Steve Maharey%%% 
 Portfolio: Research Science and Technology 
  
-Out of all research and partnership grants funded by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology in the finiancial year ending 31 March 2005, what proportion of these grants were given to companies or individuals developing Open Source Software (as defined by the Open Source Institute http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php) and does the Foundation have polices intended to encourage the development of Open Source Software which will benefit all New Zealanders? 
+Out of all research and partnership grants funded by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology in the finiancial year ending 31 March 2005, what proportion of these grants were given to companies or individuals developing Open Source Software (as defined by the Open Source Institute http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php) and does the Foundation have policies intended to encourage the development of Open Source Software which will benefit all New Zealanders? 
  
 ! Consideration of Open Source Software in Government Software Procurement 
 Question Directed To: Hon. Trevor Mallard%%% 
 Portfolio: State Services 
  
 In 2003 the E-government group of the State Services Commission produced a report entitled "Open source software: briefing to the Minister of State Services" (http://www.e-government.govt.nz/docs/open-source-200303/index.html) detailing success overseas and in New Zealand with Open Source Software deployments. The report recommended that State Service Departments consider the use of Open Source Software on the basis of cost, functionality, interoperability, and security; 
  
-As a result of this policy, how many State Service Departments initiated Open Source Software deployments and does the State Services Commission have any plans to reevaluate the possible benefits of this policy.  
+As a result of this policy, how many State Service Departments initiated Open Source Software deployments, and does the State Services Commission have any plans to re-evaluate the possible benefits of this policy?  
  
 ! Publication of Information in Proprietary File Formats 
 Question Directed To: Hon. Trevor Mallard%%% 
 Portfolio: Education 
  
 Microsoft Word is a popular text editing and document presentation application commonly used by many Government departments. Word documents are stored in the commonly known .doc format. Microsoft describes Word documents as an "Internal File Format" which is not safe for distribution outside of a company as it contains: 
 * Revision history which may include previous changes not intended to be releasd 
 * Executable code that supports the propogation of Viruses and other Malware 
+In addition, Word documents often look different on different computers, which can re-arrange the formatting, moving page breaks, etc.  
  
-Given these problems why does the Ministry of Education continue to threaten the safety of users of it's website and render itself liable to embarassing leaks of confidential information by providing documents in .doc format on it's website when they documents are already available in open file formats such as PDF. 
+Given these problems why does the Ministry of Education continue to threaten the safety of users of its website and render itself liable to embarassing leaks of confidential information by providing documents in .doc format on its website when the documents are already available in open file formats such as PDF.  
+  
+  
+! Development of Education Software with a New Zealand Focus.  
+Question Directed To: Hon. Trevor Mallard%%%  
+Portfolio: Education  
+  
+Much of the English-language software available for primary and secondary education is from the USA. As a result, this software often has features such as voices with American accents and references to American history, culture, and values.  
+How much money (if any) did the Ministry of Education spend in the 2004 and 2003 financial years acquiring software written specifically for a New Zealand audience? Would the Ministry be more likely to commission software if the software was under an Open Source license so that schools do not need to pay on-going license fees?  
  
 ----- 
 !!Other things we need to phrase into questions: 
 * Microsoft in Schools 
-* ComCom & [ADSL] in New Zealand?  
-* Māori language translations/interfaces (eg gnome 2.6 and kde have some 'mi' locale support). Educational software that has a US focus rather than NZ? (video/audio accents, history (think 'Oregon Trail', etc)  
+* [Commerce Commission|http://www.comcom.govt.nz/] & [ADSL] in New Zealand?  
+ 
  
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 ! Notes 
 * Removed Patent questions as this issue is currently in review by Select Committee? after the consulation period ended 11 March 2005, The written question rules state that questions must not address issues that are currently being discussed in committee. 
 * Remove all the general questions regarding why does department X not do this as the sample of departments I looked at while tidying this page were not in error. If you have _specific_ examples feel free to add a question.