Smart management of our environment and infrastructure
Digital Economy Goal: by 2020, the majority of Australian households, businesses and other organisations will have access to smart technology to better manage their energy use.
An NBN-empowered digital economy can improve Australia’s environmental sustainability by supporting applications that encourage more efficient use of water, energy, transport and infrastructure.
Australia’s population has grown over the past 40 years at an average annual rate of 1.4 per cent a year, taking Australia’s total population to approximately 22.4 million in 2010. Australia also has a distinctive population distribution, being one of the most mobile and spatially concentrated of any country. It is highly urbanised, with 87 per cent living in urban areas, including 64 per cent in capital cities. Current projections suggest Australia’s population will continue to grow over time, but at slower rates than in the past.
- Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities’ Sustainable Population Strategy
- Infrastructure Australia’s Publications including State of Australian Cities 2010 [PDF - 9.9mb]
This creates various policy challenges for governments at all levels. Together with a changing climate, this is altering the natural environment and having a significant impact upon the way we live. Smart use of technology in an NBN-empowered digital economy can be an important tool to assist in the managing of these challenges.
To date, there have been a number of initiatives by the Australian, state and territory governments to demonstrate the ability of smarter use of technology to better manage our natural and built environment. Chief among these is the Smart Grid, Smart City initiative. The Australian Government has also committed to fund smart infrastructure technologies to reduce congestion and improve traffic demand management and the overall efficiency of the transport network in major cities.
