Conroy staffers join Carr’s Innovation Council

James Riley
Tuesday, 28 July 2009 13:06

IT Industry - Market

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy continues to claw back portfolio responsibility for industry development in the ICT sector, even as Industry Minister Kim Carr names his new ICT Innovation Council.

In fact, having shepherded the National Broadband Network project through Cabinet and up to the ditch-digging stage, Senator Conroy has put himself at the helm of the largest ICT industry development program in the nation’s history.

Coupled with the Digital Economy Future Directions Paper and communications industry regulation, the most substantive Commonwealth industry development initiatives will be through NBN –related developments through the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE).

That Kim Carr has appointed Conroy political staffer Belinda Dennett as an observer to his ICT Industry Innovation Council, and given full membership to Mia Garlick, the prime mover in developing the Digital Economy white paper from DBCDE, confirms the obvious: the NBN, in creating the underlying infrastructure for innovation, is the main game.

Senator Conroy already shares portfolio responsibility for peak ICT research agency National ICT Australia (NICTA) with Senator Carr, with NICTA looking increasingly like the lead Commonwealth vehicle for NBN-targeted research and development.

Senator Conroy’s role has not always been so clear. Following the 2007 election, the Prime Minister gave him – in addition to implementing the broadband election promise – regulatory responsibility for the communications sector, and a vaguely constructed permit to promote the use of the internet.

But at the same time, Mr Rudd stripped the porfolio of ICT sector industry development responsibility – which was handed to Senator Carr – as well as taking away responsibility for sport, the arts, and for National Archives.

At the time, the much slimmed-down portfolio (formerly DCITA) looked anaemic, and was portrayed by political insiders as a down-grading of Senator Conroy’s influence.

A year and a half later, and the successful development of the fibre to the home project has shifted the centre of gravity for ICT industry development from the Industry department to DBCDE.

Senator Carr’s ICT  Industry Innovation Council, which had its first meeting last week, is a paint-by-numbers exercise made up of all the usual suspects: the Microsoft CEO, the IBM CEO, the AIIA representative, the Computer Society President; the venture capital industry; the academic representative; and the small business representative. NICTA and CSIRO top brass also get a guernsey.

Most interesting among the appointees are the Conroy/DBCDE delegates, as well as a union organiser from the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) – who will doubtless have plenty of input on NBN issues.

In announcing the make-up of the Council, Senator Carr acknowlegded the central role of the NBN, and said the council would be working to encouraging development of technologies and services that will be delivered over the new network.

Commonwealth ICT sector industry development will be hugely influenced also by the Lindsay Tanner’s Department of Finance. The Gershon Review of ICT procurement, as it is implemented, will have an big impact on the tech sector, as will other Tanner initiatives like the Government 2.0 Taskforce.

The sleeping giant ICT industry development will come from Defence. With the Defence department expected to spend three times as much on ICT procurement as the next three biggest agencies combined (think Tax, Centrelink, Immigration), the industry should be preparing for huge opportunities, particularly in the provision of ‘special needs’ online.

But any ICT industry development decisions – whether based on R&D funding, tax credits, or government procurement – will be made in the context of the National Broadband Network.

The project is simply that big.