WELLINGTON, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The five nations considered to be at the forefront of putting government services online will gather in New Zealand in early 2018 to discuss moves to expand digital government, Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne said Friday.
The meeting will be the next international leaders' summit, most recently held in South Korea of Digital 5 (D5) nations: New Zealand, Britain, South Korea, Estonia and Israel.
Over the next year New Zealand would be leading a digital identity work stream for the D5 nations, which would build on the success of its RealMe identity verification service, Dunne said in a statement.
Members of the public could use the service to order online birth, death and marriage certificates, apply for and renew passports online, enrol to vote, or apply for student allowances and loans.
Currently 52 percent of New Zealanders' most common transactions with government were completed in a digital environment and the government was track to meet a target of 70 percent by December 2017.
"As a small country we are early adopters of technology and can develop, test and innovate more quickly than most. Our digital journey is progressing well in New Zealand," Dunne said.
"We are transforming government services so they are designed and delivered with the citizen in mind, not around how government is structured. This means the public sector will deliver integrated services that are based on what our citizens need."
At the D5 Summit in South Korea last month, Dunne signed the Busan Declaration, reaffirming the efforts of the D5 countries to strengthen cooperation in the field of digital government among members and with the international community.
