Electronic future

IT is still too early to be sure, but it looks as though those who want to build a national electronic conveyancing system have found a friend in Robert McClelland. The federal attorney-general, unlike some state government bureaucrats, seems to understand that e-conveyancing will never work unless the interests of business are addressed. The test will be whether McClelland is prepared to exert a little muscle to persuade his state counterparts to embrace the same approach.

Mr McCleland planned to talk to South Australia's AG Mr Atkinson at this month's meeting of the standing committee of attorneys-general to explain the benefits of the national system.

"It is clear that to progress these negotiations in some instances you have to look for the WIIFM (what's in it for me) factor and I will be sitting down to explain the bigger picture," Mr McClelland said.

He hoped to outline a broad range of "incentives or inducements that would ensure SA and the other states were all singing from the same song sheet". The federal Government, with the support of the Northern Territory, had placed the development of a national electronic conveyancing system on the SCAG agenda, Mr McClelland said. It was "regrettable" that state government officials had met last week to develop their own plans for e-conveyancing without including representatives of business users, he said. "If we are going to bed this down we need everyone on board the ship," he said, "rather than having some feeling they have been left at the wharf."


Mr McClelland said he had already had discussions on e-conveyancing and was considering a number of proposals about the future structure of the system. "A joint enterprise arrangement in which the states and territories, essentially -- and possibly the commonwealth -- have an interest would be a good thing. "To that extent I note there was a similar recommendation coming out of the meeting chaired by Bob Carr last week," he said. "So the reality is that all those involved are thinking in similar and constructive terms.


"My job is going to have to be to say to everyone: be careful that these discussions do not fragment and little rival blocs develop," Mr McClelland said. This month's meeting with his state counterparts would be an important opportunity to refocus the attention of the states on e-conveyancing, he said.


Chris Merritt | The Australian | 14 March 2008