The sudden departure of Finance and Deregulation Minister, Lindsay Tanner, will have a major impact on the Australian tech industry, according to Ovum analyst, Kevin Noonan.

The Federal Government has reinforced its aim to slash the number of IT contractors it employs while boosting the number of permanent IT staff.

The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) has raised concerns about the effectiveness of a new Federal Government digital economy blog in policy development.

Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, and Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Lindsay Tanner, have launched a joint blog to canvass opinions on the future of Australia’s digital economy.