People increasingly expect to be able to apply for licences, submit tax returns, pay parking fines, and even just talk to their government on-line. There are many exciting developments being taken forward by governments in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, Singapore and elsewhere. In Hong Kong, we will soon be launching our own Electronic Service Delivery infrastructure. In these new endeavours we all have much to learn from one another. Thirdly, we can make use of new institutional structures and of public-private partnership.
Most governments are the repositories of vast quantities of potentially valuable information.
To unlock this value may require investment and expertise beyond the means of government, or involve commercial risks that traditional government structures are ill-equipped to manage. However, new forms of institution working in partnership with the private sector have shown themselves capable of exploiting such opportunities to the full. The need for public sector reform is always with us. This conference provides an ideal opportunity for us to take stock, reinvigorate our efforts and find the right way forward. I would now like to turn to the conference programme.