The e-government portal launch, scheduled for 18 July, is being postponed until after the election, State Services Commissioner Michael Wintringham announced today.

The e-government portal (www.govt.nz) is a single website giving structured access to the websites of New Zealand government agencies. It is a convenient way of finding out about government information and services from one place, without having to understand how government is organised and therefore which sites you need to use. The portal is a key aspect of the e-government programme. Mr Wintringham said that testing had shown the need for improvement in the portal search engine.

"Although the problem is relatively minor and has now been identified, the time taken to resolve it will have flow on effects on the portal implementation timetable.

"Government agencies require a certain amount of time to check their data before the portal goes live. More time is also required to complete the testing phase, which would push the launch into the week immediately prior to the general election. After consideration, I therefore decided to delay the portal's formal launch until after the election," Mr Wintringham said.

E-government unit Director Brendan Boyle said the issue was identified during the unit's scheduled testing of the portal and its architecture.

"This is the reason we undertook such a thorough testing process.

"We are now working with our suppliers to quickly rectify the search engine's performance issue. We expect to have this resolved in a matter of days.

"While I am disappointed about a delay, I believe it is important that the portal should work 100 percent before it is publicly launched. When live, the portal will provide the public with fast and easy access to more than 1100 government services and 2500 resources," Mr Boyle said.

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