Ms Gillard told a forum on the digital economy that the nation had to work out how to exploit the opportunities to come with investment in information and communication technology (ICT).
"The commodity most precious in the 21st century, more valuable even than iron ore, is knowledge," Ms Gillard told the forum attended by 40 industry representatives in Sydney on Friday.
"The way we create and share knowledge will be a key determinant of our success in the Asian century."
Ms Gillard said the internet already contributed $50 billion directly to the Australian economy in 2010 but the indirect activity was just as important.
"These effects aren't captured in GDP figures but they're worth an extra $80 billion a year," she said.
The prime minister said the national broadband network (NBN) would underpin the digital economy by boosting productivity and offering more opportunities, both here and abroad.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the NBN was on track to pass 758,000 homes either under construction or completed by the end of 2012.
He said 23,000 users were on the NBN, and the take-up rates at several trial sites were better than expected.
"Our take-up rate in two of our first trial sites, Willunga and Kiama, in just over 15 months, is 40 per cent," he said.
Labor's $37.4 billion NBN is to deliver high-speed optic-cable broadband services to 93 per cent of homes, schools and businesses by 2021, with the rest provided by fixed wireless and satellite technologies.
IBM Australia managing director Andrew Stevens said Australia would gain from investing in ICT services.
"High-speed broadband is really the basis of our confidence that the Australian economy is on the cusp of a new era of growth built on productivity gains," Mr Stevens said.
He said the last major lift in national productivity occurred in the mid-1990s, when local businesses and government agencies invested heavily in ICT and reaped the gains from automating and streamlining operations.
Firms and governments had to harness technology to improve services while reducing costs, Mr Stevens said.
Australia Post CEO Ahmed Fahour said the government-owned enterprise was embracing technology to offer new services to customers.
"I believe that if anybody is going to cannibalise Australia Post that ought to be ourselves and allow ourselves the benefit of actually moving into the new world," Mr Fahour said.
Mr Fahour said the postal agency would launch a digital mailbox service later this month.
He said it would open a series of collection outlets across Australia to be in operation around the clock.
" ... You will go to a parcel locker and a four-digit number will appear on your mobile phone or on your email, and you can pick it up any time of the day or night instead of you having to be at home or at work for that," Mr Fahour said.
Ms Gillard said the forum emphasised the need to address a shortage of skilled ICT workers, such as software engineers.
"It is not something that we can let drift, because when people point to enrolment patterns now in our universities there is a real reason to be concerned," she said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Ed Logue and Liza Kappelle
Quelle/Source: Adelaide Now, 07.10.2012
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