Queensland Digital Economy Strategy Consultation Department of Science, Information, Technology, Innovation and the Arts GPO Box 5078 BRISBANE QLD 4001
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Queensland Digital Economy Strategy Consultation Department of Science, Information, Technology, Innovation and the Arts GPO Box 5078 BRISBANE QLD 4001 By email to: [email protected] Advance Cairns welcomes the opportunity to make this submission to the Queensland Government’s Digital Economy Strategy, to help inform the development of the final Queensland Digital Economy Strategy. Background Advance Cairns is the peak regional advocacy and economic development organisation for Tropical North Queensland (TNQ). Our geographic area, which includes the Cairns region, (including Port Douglas), Cassowary Coast (Innisfail, Mission Beach and Tully), the Tablelands region and Cook Shire, has a population of nearly 245,000, supports more than 23,400 registered businesses and covers more than 270,000 km2. Advance Cairns facilitates connections between private enterprise, industry, community and government agencies to improve the lives of people living within our region. Our members consist of organisations that want to be involved in making a positive contribution to the long-term development and progression of our region. We advocate on behalf of various projects, policies and plans which are determined by our members on an annual basis. One of five regional priorities for 2013 is Positioning the Region for the Digital Economy. This priority has been determined by our members and the Advance Cairns Board as aligning with our economic vision for our region, and one which will advance our region towards a more resilient economy. Queensland’s Digital Economy It is no secret that the trend towards a more digitally based economy will provide a transformational opportunity to regional communities across Australia. More business activity will be conducted through high-speed broadband and many businesses agree high speed broadband will make competing globally easier, faster and more affordable. It will make regions more liveable and attractive to new and current residents by enabling greater digitally-enabled access to services and social connections. Such opportunities for economic growth, diversification and wellbeing contribute to stronger regions and a strong national economy. P a g e | 1 Advance Cairns strongly supports the development of the Queensland Digital Economy Strategy. A clearly articulated vision for how we embrace the digital world is critical to realising the Government’s aim for Queensland to be the nation’s most digitally interactive state, and to be recognised globally as a digital innovation hub. Focus Area: Queensland Government Advance Cairns supports the Desired Outcomes of this focus area, and the Action Ideas identified are wide-ranging. The Government’s challenge will be to satisfy its clients - citizens and business – that it can effectively manage data security and not compromise in any way the confidentiality of personal and private information. Advance Cairns welcomes the Queensland Government’s recognition of the role communities can play in shaping government processes and policy development. Using digital technologies to provide opportunities for people across the state, particularly those in regional, rural and remote areas, to engage in the policy making process will help to empower local people and engender them to participate in and provide informed contributions to the debate. Advance Cairns encourages Open Data initiatives to provide a platform for innovation and economic growth. Opening up ‘public’ infrastructure and assets for commercial use by the private sector is a strategy which can be further developed and deployed. Open Data should be high quality with high value data sets, provide ease of accessibility and high levels of functionality. Open Data projects have demonstrated success in seeding innovation, enabling collective problem solving, engaging communities, improving the quality of decision making, reducing transactional costs and improving knowledge. A good example is Brisbane City Council’s Open Data initiative, which commenced in 2011. Most importantly, we are particularly keen to see the Queensland Government work with the Australian Government to leverage programs, such as the Federal Government’s Digital Enterprise Program, and maximise digital infrastructure and services for Queensland, ensuring we get our fair share of funding and infrastructure. With the results of the strategic review of the National Broadband Network by the Australian Government not expected to be realised publically until the end of the year, it is unclear where our region will be positioned in the future rollout of high speed broadband. Construction of the national network has commenced in Cairns and the broader region was positioned favourably in NBN Co’s three year rollout plan. The success of having Cairns and TNQ included in the early stages of the former national construction schedule gave the region an 8-10 year head start on other areas in Australia and allowed the region to plan for a digital economy. The State Government will not realise its vision as Australia’s most digitally active state unless regions like TNQ remain at the forefront of the rollout of a national high speed broadband network. The State Government can assist our region to enable the digital economy through active representation to the Federal Government. P a g e | 2 Focus Area: People and Communities Advance Cairns supports the Desired Outcomes of this focus area, and the Action Ideas which have been identified. Access to the internet and digital technologies can play a crucial role in overcoming inequities due to remoteness, to help to close the gap on access to health, education, training and employment opportunities and other basic services. Regional and remote communities like those on the Atherton Tablelands and west to the Gulf of Carpentaria, in the Cook Shire and across Cape York Peninsular, and across the Cassowary Coast region south of Cairns, acknowledge the advantages of alternative models of health service delivery, like telemedicine and e-health, as well as providing access to allied and specialist health practitioners. These services are also valuable to urban communities like Cairns, and the potential for the development of an inner city computer medical hub to support homeless and disadvantaged population groups has already been identified by the Far North Queensland Medicare Local. Distance education services are an integral part of regional communities where the tyranny of distance can have real impacts on equitable access to education, however access to digital technologies means rural and remote communities will have the potential to access the same educational materials as those in urban and regional areas. The important social outcomes that digital communication can play in connecting separated families and supporting the maintenance of Australia’s unique Indigenous culture and languages is extremely important for TNQ. Fast and efficient internet access would reduce the vast digital divide for remote Indigenous populations and provide significant outcomes in terms of social, economic and cultural development and connect remote regions with the broader community. The critical challenge for the Queensland Government is to recognise that not all communities across the state currently have equitable access to digital technologies. ADSL is not available in many rural and remote communities and there are very few, if any, ADSL2+ enabled exchanges in the bush. There is limited penetration of 3G off major highways and towns, and 4G networks are only accessible in main urban areas. The chart below shows that 23.43% of households in Far North Queensland and Torres Strait did not have an internet connection at the time of the 2011 Census, which is greater than the 18.19% of Queensland households with no connections. No internet connection Broadband internet connection 2006 2011 2006 2011 FNQ&TS 39.22% 23.43% 32.74% 64.62% Queensland 34.15% 18.19% 40.09% 71.29% National 35.43% 19.65% 39.22% 69.9% RDA boundary estimates are produced by: Corresponding SLA (Statistical Local Area) or Local Government Area (LGA) estimates based on previous versions of the Australian Standard Geographic Classification (ASGC) to the SLA or LGA boundaries for the current version of the ASGC (2011); and Aggregating SLA or LGA estimates on ASGC 2011 boundaries to 2011 RDA boundaries. Definition: The number of, and percentage of total, occupied private dwellings with Internet access, by type of access. Based on place of usual residence. P a g e | 3 Inequitable access to the online environment is further evidenced by data which shows that in the Cairns LGA, 72.4% of households had an internet connection at the time of the 2011 Census. In the Cook LGA, which encompasses much of Cape York Peninsula, only 50.2% of households had an internet connection, for example. Barriers to adoption of digital technologies, particularly for those in rural and remote regions include no or limited access to the internet, no or limited access to local IT companies with local knowledge, and a lack of understanding of the digital environment. Councils are driven to deliver services efficiently and providing services online has been identified as a priority by most. However a lack of understanding and knowledge on what technology is available, due to the rapid pace of advancement, and the cost associated with new systems is a barrier to uptake, particularly for smaller councils. The Government has a clear role to play in assisting communities