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 welcomes the opportunity to make this submission to the 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 (TNQ). Our geographic area, which includes the , (including ), Cassowary Coast (Innisfail, Mission Beach and Tully), the 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.

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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.

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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 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 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.

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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 to take up digital technologies and services, and Advance Cairns supports the notion that local governments and non-government organisations are best positioned to provide services and support to communities to engage in the digital economy because these organisations already have strong presences and networks across our communities.

Communities should be supported through programs which provide funding for the development of localised digital economy strategies and the development of systems which support business and community engagement including education, awareness raising and feedback mechanisms.

Initiatives to encourage and facilitate widespread digital literacy and inclusion could include:  Expanding existing information sessions and public workshops about digital literacy in readily accessible public places such as libraries and shopping centres, or implement them where they are not yet available;  Support the development of digital economy programs which outreach to rural and remote communities;  Investigate alternative mechanisms to enhance the user experience for remote communities through wifi and other innovative technologies, ie Google’s Project Loon (balloon powered internet);  Expand the implementation of public wifi hotspots;  Encourage participation by organisations in programs such as the Australian Seniors Computer Clubs Association and Computer Clubhouse Network.

Besides local government, trusted community institutions well-placed to provide education and information include:  Local libraries and council for community-run community centres;  Business support services provided by local Chambers of Commerce, Business Enterprise Centres, etc;  TAFE colleges and universities, including U3A;  Veterans, pensioner and aged care support services;  Migrant settlement services;  Indigenous social support agencies;  Other community sector agencies, including disability support agencies.

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Connectivity supports the development of community resilience. Online services can provide better community access and sharing of information about local safety, security risks and critical incidents. The Digital Economy Strategy should address key components in this area, linked to the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience.

Social disadvantage and isolation will be reduced by using online services to better connect people, improve the delivery of community services and help provide people with basic skills that enhance employment opportunities and support delivery of services. The Digital Economy Strategy should ensure that social inclusion is a key component of this focus area.

Focus Area: Business and Industry

Advance Cairns supports the Desired Outcomes of this focus area, and the Action Ideas which have been identified.

The uptake of digital technology is critical to businesses in regional and rural communities in TNQ maintaining their competitiveness or gaining any competitive edge. The IBM / NIEIR report ‘Reinventing Australian enterprises for the digital economy’ states that “the difference between the performance of an organisation that has a suitable business model for the digital age and one that doesn’t can be so great that the followers are more likely to fail completely”. It will be increasingly difficult for businesses to regain markets if they’ve lost them to more sophisticated business models, including those operating overseas, which have captured the benefits of the digital economy, especially through enablers like high speed broadband.

In the Cairns 2011 Business Survey, prepared by AECgroup Ltd on behalf of Cairns Regional Council, 46.8% of respondent businesses rated high speed broadband as extremely important to their business, with a further 24.8% rating it as very important to their business, showing high levels of demand and interest. 98% of businesses operating across the Cairns LGA use the internet, with most using the internet for day to day operations like email and banking, as well as making online purchases and for information gathering, however only 37.7% of respondents reported using the internet for e-marketing and selling products and/or services online. Anecdotal evidence suggests that while most businesses are connected online, they don’t understand how to exploit the digital economy.

In the Cairns 2011 Business Survey, 10.2% of home-based businesses and 3.9% of non- home-based businesses cited insufficient internet connection as an impediment to business growth. The report noted that home-based businesses rely heavily upon the internet and that home-based internet connections are often of lesser quality than the office-based businesses due to available infrastructure.

More than 40% of Queensland businesses surveyed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (Queensland Digital Readiness Study) reported internet speed as a barrier to digital business, with nearly 25% reporting internet coverage as a barrier. They agreed that the digital economy will have a positive impact of business but also that they would be more exposed to competition from overseas suppliers.

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Advance Cairns would welcome the State Government’s commitment to expanding funding programs which support businesses to become more digitally enabled as well as to recognise the benefits of engaging in the digital economy.

Initiatives could include:  The sharing of local case studies by demonstrating successful adoption of business practices that improve efficiency and boost productivity;  Enlisting the assistance of local ‘champions’ to help local businesses understand how to engage in the digital economy;  Drawing on external case studies or networks to research and share useful and innovative applications;  Encourage or initiate training or mentoring opportunities for local businesses and organisations through established industry cluster groups;  Provide information about using high speed broadband effectively to connected businesses and organisations through meetings of established local networks.

These programs could build on the Federal Government’s Digital Enterprise Program and could be delivered through Business Enterprise Centres, regional Chambers of Commerce, industry peak bodies and the like.

Evidence through discussion with small business operators suggests that small business operators seek or listen to advice first and foremost from within their own networks, including from their suppliers, their banks, accountants or others within their networks as most often these are the people they engage with on a daily or frequent basis. They are less likely to be engaged with their business associations, particularly where those associations do not have representatives in the region regularly engaging with them.

The region’s economy will thrive and diversify as existing and new businesses use digital technologies to grow their markets, to improve productivity, to enhance their knowledge resources and to build new networks of suppliers and partners.

Focus area: Digital industry

Advance Cairns supports the Desired Outcomes of this focus area, and the Action Ideas which have been identified.

The Cairns ICT sector is producing state of the art products and delivering world recognised services. The ICT industry in the region comprises of services within IT, telecommunications, broadcast media and all types of audio and video processing and transmission and network based control and monitoring functions.

With such a diverse range of services it is essential to promote to the business, government and education sectors as well as to the broader community the pool of skilled ICT professionals existing within the local area. The ICT industry is well-placed to attract workers looking for a lifestyle career.

For some time ICT professionals working across the region have identified a general lack of infrastructure as an issue in building the industry. In particular, internet connectivity and speed are major limiting factors to further development.

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The Queensland Government can support the development of local Digital Industry Capability Profiles to provide the basis for workforce profiling with the potential to promote service providers to facilitate active participation in the digital economy. The Queensland Government could further support the alignment of local training and education initiatives to close gaps identified in local Digital Industry Capability Profiles.

Conclusion

The region of TNQ seeks equitable access to the digital economy, and recognises this as an opportunity to significantly increase the sustainability of our communities. Our need as a region is based on the exceptional combination of social, economic and environmental challenges we face and the significant opportunity that consistent and accessible high speed broadband presents to address challenges and realise the region’s growth potential. That is why positioning the region for the digital economy is strongly embedded as a priority in our local and regional strategies which specifically target economic diversity and the strengthening of education, health and research.

The rollout of high speed broadband represents an unprecedented investment in telecommunications infrastructure in regional Australia. The availability of high speed broadband in TNQ means regional and remote businesses would be able to connect and interact with domestic and international markets like never before, enabling greater innovation, facilitating new business models and improving regional productivity. It is a critical enabler to diversifying the TNQ economy and increasing the economic output of our region.

We commend the State Government’s initiative to develop a State-wide approach to empowering communities through the digital economy and look forward to the implementation of a range of strategies so our region can take advantage of the economic development opportunities that the online world brings.

Yours faithfully

Mark Matthews Chief Executive Officer

This submission has been prepared with the support of key regional stakeholders including Cairns Regional Council, reflecting the Cairns Digital Economy Strategy (an initiative of Cairns Regional Council and partners Regional Development Australia Far North Queensland and Torres Strait and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations), and the Digital Enterprise Program Advisory Committee. Membership of the Digital Enterprise Program Advisory Group is attached as Appendix 1.

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APPENDIX 1 | Membership of the Digital Enterprise Program Advisory Committee

Members Name Contact Details Regional Development Australia Sonja Johnson 0458 044 229 FNQ&TS [email protected] Advance Cairns Mark Matthews 4080 2900 [email protected] FNQ Regional Organisation of Councils Darlene Irvine 4044 3038 – 0403 808 680 [email protected] Department of Education, Employment Tamilyn Brennan 0409 763 507 & Workplace Relations [email protected] Department of State Development, Joan Tapp 4039 8097 (ext 98097) Infrastructure & Planning [email protected] Department of Science, Information John Williams 4760 1575 - 0467734101 Technology, Innovation and the Arts [email protected] Gulf Savannah Development - BEC Rob Macalister 4031 1631- 0447 167 092 [email protected] Cape York Sustainable Futures – BEC Trish Butler 4053 2942 – 0419 782 720 [email protected] Digital Economy Cairns Rob Rutten 0409 117 494 [email protected] Cairns Regional Council Bronwyn Voyce 4044 3324 [email protected] TNQ Institute of TAFE Emily Reid 4042 2654 [email protected] Cairns Chamber of Commerce Deb Hancock 4031 1838 – 0488 765 144 [email protected] Medicare Local Dr Michael Wilson 4032 3555 – 0499 993166 [email protected] Cook Shire Council Kimberley Sullivan 07 4069 5444 [email protected] ARC Disability Services Ben Keast 07 4046 3600 [email protected]

Cairns Alliance of Social Services TBA (via Helga 4031 2839 – 0409 269 513 Biro, Centacare) [email protected] Chamber of Commerce Tamara Shroj 4092 6050 [email protected] Tableland Regional Council Amanda Riches [email protected] Dean Davidson [email protected] Glenys Pilat [email protected] Douglas Chamber of Commerce Phoebe Kitto [email protected] Cape York Sustainable Futures Peter Thompson [email protected] Telstra Amanda Albon 4047 5021 - 0408 110 868 [email protected] NBN Co Ryan Williams 0418 847 715 - 07 3392 5921 [email protected] Attendees DEP Project Manager Michele Dale 4080 2900 [email protected] Secretariat Linda Richardson 4080 2900 [email protected]

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