The comprehensive transition of Australia’s economy and society to a digital economy is appropriately a market-led phenomenon.
Ensuring that Australia is a leading digital economy by 2020 requires collaboration by government, industry and the community. It also requires a transformation in how government and the private sector do business.
The government welcomes the contribution that industry is making to promote greater digital engagement. The Getting Aussie Business Online nationwide campaign by Google and MYOB and the recent Australian Retailer Association’s Engage in E-Tail seminar series are two examples of these.
The government invites industry, state and territory governments and local councils to contribute to the vision of Australia becoming a leading digital economy by 2020.
The NBN and the devices and applications it can support, will deliver benefits and inspire innovation that Australians cannot yet imagine. Consequently, it will be an ongoing process to bring about this transformation and realise the benefits of an NBN-enabled digital economy.
The research work undertaken by entities such as the Institute for a Broadband Enabled Society, the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the National ICT Centre of Excellence (NICTA), including through the CSIRO-NICTA joint Australian Centre for Broadband Innovation, will continue to be at the forefront of demonstrating the cutting edge applications and future trends of Australia’s high-speed broadband enabled future. This demonstrates the importance of innovation through research and development.
Some of this research and development occurs in universities and research organisations that are widely dispersed across Australia and rely heavily on an effective IT infrastructure to undertake research and utilise research outcomes. The introduction of the NBN will help ensure researchers have the supporting infrastructure required to remain at the forefront of scientific endeavour.
In addition to research innovation, the NBN can also support private sector innovation. Recent research has indicated that businesses with broadband connections, a web presence and/or e-commerce are significantly more likely to engage in innovative effort, compared to businesses with no broadband connection. This makes it important to promote private sector digital engagement.
The government will continue to collaborate with industry, state and territory governments and local councils to progress the digital economy goals and will promote dialogue and networking on identified issues of national importance to Australia’s digital economy, similar to the recently held Online Retail Forum and Telework Forum.
