The future direction of Australia's Digital Economy: a foretaste

Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 10 June 2009 12:07

IT Industry - Strategy

Late last year Australia's communications minister, Stephen Conroy promised to release, in 2009, a Digital Economy Future Directions. He has now promised this in the next few weeks, and given a foretaste of what it will contain.

Addressing the Australian Industry Group Digital Technologies Conference in Sydney, Conroy said: "The paper will attempt to describe what a successful digital economy might look like," and immediately qualified this objective by saying "Trying to describe an end point is an impossible task because the technological drivers mean the goalposts constantly change. But it is possible to identify that a successful digital economy will include certain key elements."
 
He said it would require:
- The innovative use of technology by governments to improve service delivery and public engagement;
- 'Digital confidence' among Australian households and businesses that encourages effective participation online;
- Skills across our society to ensure everyone has the potential to engage online and that engagement be as productive as possible;
- A regulatory framework to support the highly dynamic nature of the digital environment;
- Online business models that contribute to the sustainability and vigour of the digital economy;
- Technology that assists in better managing our natural environment and infrastructure; and
- Reductions in the environmental impact of information and communications technology systems and equipment.
 
He added that "The Digital Economy Future Directions Paper will help Australia to maximise its participation in the digital economy. It will recognise that digital economies are primarily market-led with Government in the role of key enabler."

Conroy kicked off the process to produce the paper last December when he issued a consultation paper on the future directions of Australia's digital economy saying "The Rudd Government wants to engage with all interested parties on the future of Australia's digital economy."

To engage business and other stakeholders in consultations Conroy's department launched the Digital Economy Forum and a discussion of thoughts and ideas about the digital economy was encouraged on the Digital Economy Blog, which was open for two weeks from 8 to 24 December 2008.

However, as iTWire commented at the time , it was not clear from those early statements on the future directions paper whether it would contain any specific recommendations, objectives, goals or an action plan or be merely descriptive of some desirable digital future.