With two state ballots already decided and a federal poll towards the end of the year, there are several opportunities for the Australian people to have their say.
The issue of technology, both as an enabler for other sectors and as a valuable industry deserving of government support and development, has played a role in both state elections, especially in Tasmania where the national broadband network pilot is expected to drive major economic growth.
At a public forum held by the ACS in Hobart in the lead-up to the Tasmania poll the leaders of all three parliamentary parties acknowledged the importance of information and communications technology and affirmed their commitment to advancing the ICT sector.
Labor Party leader David Bartlett used the event to announce a $4.85 million package of measures aimed at taking advantage of the NBN, including a major SmartGrid trial, a Connected Classrooms project and a Digital Futures Development Fund, among others.
Mr Bartlett, opposition leader Will Hodgeman, and Greens leader Nick McKim recognised the need for an integrated, whole-of-government approach to ICT planning and delivery, with the Labor Party promising to create a ministry for innovation, science and information technology if it was returned to power.
Tasmania's ICT industry is small compared with that of some other states, accounting for just 1.6 per cent of all Australian ICT professionals, but this group of about 8100 practitioners will have a profound influence on the nation as the NBN rollout gets under way.
The NBN has the potential to revolutionise the way Australians work, play and interact, as it enables the delivery of radical new services in areas such as e-health, e-tailing, e-education, and more.
In this federal election year, the ACS is calling for a national Digital Economy Action Plan to give prominence to Australia's growing digital economy.
Australia is well positioned to extract maximum benefit from the NBN investment.
It is important that we get this right because the whole world is jockeying for advantage in the digital space and our window of opportunity to gain a competitive advantage is small.
Already, many Australian businesses and consumers rely on the digital economy for daily transactions and communications, and that will increase as the NBN becomes available and new online businesses develop.
The ACS is pleased to see the Attorney-General's Department take up the challenge of developing a clear and effective security framework that addresses the requirements of all users to ensure the highest levels of confidence and e-safety. Anything less would impede our economic progress since it would constrain the development and adoption of online business models.
The ACS is looking for a strong commitment from all parties to address the issues of digital education, e-security, innovation, online content and technology skills development.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Anthony Wong
Quelle/Source: Australian IT, 30.03.2010
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