NSW premier names bid team for NBN HQ

Stuart Corner
Thursday, 23 July 2009 14:41

IT Industry - Strategy

NSW premier Nathan Rees has named the team that will head the Government's bid to secure the HQ of the NBN company for the state.

According to an AAP report it will include the state's chief scientist, Mary O'Kane and the head of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce, former sate Liberal MP Patricia Forsythe.

However, Rees announced in May the formation of the NBN Task Force "to accelerate rollout of the network in NSW. He said that task force would focus on four key areas: Securing the NBN headquarters in NSW; investigating opportunities for leveraging the NSW Government's assets and purchasing power for the NBN rollout; ensuring the planning process for the rollout proceeds smoothly; Promotion of the ICT industry, technology application and development, and training through the course of the rollout."

He added: "I have also asked the NSW Taskforce to investigate the establishment of NBN test beds in NSW, to test the next generation of applications and content in areas such as smart metering, education, housing and health,"

He said: "I have asked Graham Head, the director general of the Department of Commerce, to chair this government and industry taskforce which will include representatives from the Departments of Premier and Cabinet, Commerce, State and Regional Development, Lands and Planning."

That body also has a number of independent expert members: O'Kane, Ms Rosemary Sinclair, managing director of ATUG, Dr Terry Percival, director of NICTA's Neville Roach Laboratory and Dr Alex Zelinsky, group executive, information and communication sciences and technologies and director CSIRO ICT Centre.

However one team memberl told iTWire that the main role of the task force would be to set up test beds and that the bid team announced today was a separate body. They said that details of test beds were likely to announced in a few weeks time

iTWire has been unable at this time to obtain the premier's press release in which he detailed the new body. However the NSW Government has released a three minute video   touting the states credential to host the HQ.