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Our lead story today is about scrapping scratch cards. Finally, you might soon be able to pay for your parking on an app instead.
The background to that story has rumbled on for years, but now it seems the new Infrastructure Minister might be about to make the change.
It’s a perfect example of the sort of story we are going to be giving a lot more focus to in the future, as part of a new ‘Get Jersey Digital’ campaign. Just a few weeks ago, the CEO of Digital Jersey, Tony Moretta, urged the Island to speed up the pace of digital change, recognising that in Jersey, change often happens very slowly indeed.
He was too diplomatic to specifically mention the e-Gov project, but that experience, which we’re now told is back on track, wouldn’t have been far from the minds of his audience.
And so today, Bailiwick Express, itself an example of a new digital service which has grown significantly over the last two years, is launching a new initiative: Get Jersey Digital.
Although change might happen slowly in Jersey, we do have a proud history of spotting new opportunities, whether they happen by accident (the Jersey Royal), by virtue of our natural assets (the tourism industry), or by carefully building the right legislative and professional services environment (finance).
Ultimately, all have required the support and input from the local community to make them a success.
So, if we believe that technology could improve Jersey, we need to focus on some specific examples and push hard for change. How about completing your tax return, accessing medical care, posting public information notices, or simply booking a squash court? How easy is it to pay for GST on imported goods online?
Which other local services would benefit from being online, accessible via an app, or is it simply that their online delivery needs to be greatly improved?
We’re going to running a special competition asking primary schoolchildren for their digital ideas on what Jersey could do better, running news stories and features to raise awareness, and asking for your ideas, either by e-mailing editor@bailiwickexpress.com or clicking on the box below.
As a proud Jersey business, we believe in the future of the Island - and that’s a future which needs to be digital.
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