Clarion calls from Australia's IT industry for greater government focus on the digital economy

Staff Writers
Sunday, 15 February 2009 12:54

IT Industry - Market

There’s been another call from the IT industry for the Australian government to give greater priority to developing Australia’s digital economy as measures are rolled out by the government to stimulate the economy, with an industry advocacy group warning of the need for "vigilance against anti-competitive regulation sought by traditional businesses who feel threatened by e-commerce."

NetChoice, the e-commerce advocacy group with trade association and e-commerce business membership, in a consultation submission to the federal government, has urged the government to put e-commerce at the centre of its plans for the digital economy, identifying it as “the key way to deepen the nation’s economic engagement with the internet.”

Just a week ago  http://www.itwire.com/content/view/23070/1231/ , in the wake of the federal government’s latest economic stimulus package, the Australian Computer Society (ACS) called for government action to support the digital economy and ICT R&D in order to further stimulate the economy and ensure Australia’s ongoing global competitiveness.
 
The ACS criticised the government, saying that the government’s stimulus package had “failed to recognise the potential of the ICT industry,” and it was incumbent on the government “to give leadership and direction and to focus on execution and tangible outcomes to reinvigorate our economy, and harness the power of the digital economy.”

The executive director of NetChoice, Steve DelBianco, in the advocacy group’s submission to the government (http://www.netchoice.org/library , maintained that e-commerce would be a key driver of the digital economy, and “it will deliver the higher productivity growth and community participation the Australian Government seeks."  The NetChoice submission was made to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy's Digital Economy Future Directions consultation process.

"E-commerce has the unparalleled ability to spawn innovations, increase convenience, and generate price-cutting competition that will create new wealth, jobs and incomes and lift the quality of life for Australians."

 But DelBianco warned that poor policy decisions would be costly and, that "whilst the potential size of e-commerce in years to come is unknown, decisions taken now will have a huge bearing on the future growth path, with poor decisions knocking millions or even billions from e-commerce-driven productivity."

In particular, DelBianco stressed the need for "vigilance against anti-competitive regulation sought by traditional businesses who feel threatened by e-commerce."

In their submission, NetChoice laid out a number of areas which it said required attention, including:
• Safer payment methods:  NetChoice argued that "potential online shoppers are put off by the lack of verification measures on credit card transactions, or the potential risk that their credit card details could end up in the hands of fraudsters."  Pointing to payment methods such as PayPal, Paymate and POLi that address these issues, NetChoice warned that the uptake of these methods could be undermined. "There is a danger that this shift to safer payment types will be undermined by government action that does not take account of the differences in safety levels.  Rather than raising standards, premature regulatory intervention could slow uptake of safer payments and ultimately impair efforts to increase digital confidence."
• Developing e-commerce skills and businesses: “Government initiatives to improve digital skills should be extended to include specific advice and training on e-commerce. Teaching senior secondary students about online economics might help young adults to pursue e-commerce as way to earn money during tertiary studies and in later careers."
• Measuring e-commerce: NetChoice believes "there is a paucity of information about the size and nature of e-commerce in Australia" and recommended that "the Australian Bureau of Statistics consider regular measurements of the size of e-commerce in Australia.  Attention should also be given to developing surveys that test and evaluate levels of digital confidence in the community."

According to NetChoice, the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy will respond to submissions with a Digital Economy Future Directions paper sometime in the first half of 2009.