One member of the Australian Democrat Party is reported to have submitted questions to all state ministries requiring them to reveal their department’s expenditure on Microsoft products in a move designed to embarrass officials.
New South Wales Democrat Arthur Chesterfield-Evans is reported to have said he wished to reduce links to a profit-maximizing licensing system.
Also planned by Chesterfield and other Democrats are bills to encourage competition in bidding and raise the profile of open source software.
One proposed piece of legislation would require all government departments to give preference to open source software where practicable and to explain, in writing, any decision to purchase so-called proprietary software.
Source: Computerwire
