Prime Minister Scott Morrison has just announced that abolition and consolidation of Commonwealth Departments with the Department of Communications and the Arts (DOCA) on the chopping block.
With effect from the start of next year DOCA will be absorbed into the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications.
In a clear sign that the Federal Government had lost confidence in the executive and management of DOCA, current Secretary Mike Mrdak was sacked. Canberra insiders predict job losses amongst SES staff including those overseeing the auDA Government Review.
What does this mean for auDA ? It is likely that with the abolition of DOCA the Government Review of auDA will wash away, now that most of the reforms have been delivered. This also leaves the current Minister Paul Fletcher, effectively without a job from the start of next year.
These reforms may also mean that auDA is more appropriately administered as critical infrastructure, an obvious clue, with DOCA being rolled into the Infrastructure portfolio.
Finally, auDA may find its proper place within the infrastructure portfolio where it belongs as the manager of Australia’s critical DNS infrastructure, rather than being treated as an internet club by DOCA.
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