• Solutions Architect
• CHANNEL ACCOUNT MANAGER $ 210K...
• IT and Projects Manager -...
• Calling All C++ & AI Game...
• Project Manager Opportunities

Cover story: Promises, policies and proposals

ACS staff, Information Age

15/08/2007 15:30:00

While Australia's prosperity has never been higher, whether measured by domestic consumption, employment or any other metric, some serious electoral issues are crystallising: skills shortages, housing affordability and (finally) an effective broadband strategy to take the country forward.

ACS president Philip Argy asked ICT Minister Sen Helen Coonan, and her equivalent in Opposition, Sen Stephen Conroy, to outline their policies in key areas.

The questions the ACS put to them, and their responses, appear below.

The ACS is also seeking to convene a panel discussion once the election is called so that policy yet to be finalised can be raised, and discussed, in open forum.

It is proposed that it will follow the same general format as the discussion held before the NSW state elections last April, whereby Government and Opposition ministers answered questions put by representatives of academia and industry with an independent moderator.

The questions: 1. Technology forms the backbone on which all sectors of the economy function. In light of the clearly established links between ICT, economic growth and the well-being of the Australian economy: (a) what key measures and policies will your party take to build Australia's ICT capability to support future economic growth across all sectors of the economy; (b) Will your party's key initiatives in this area include the development of a national ICT strategy, along the lines of those so successfully developed and implemented by many of our neighbouring countries?

2. Skills development positively affects Australia's ability to develop, absorb and adapt new technologies, which in turn, enhances economic growth. Australia therefore needs a strong skills foresighting and skills knowledge base along with the ability to feed this information to higher education institutions, industry and employees to ensure we are training people in the areas where they are going to be needed at a time when they will be needed. (a) What initiatives will your party put into place to ensure that Australia has a strong and appropriately skilled supply of ICT professionals able to meet the future needs of industry and government? (b) In particular what initiatives will your party put into place to encourage industry to adopt training, cross-training and up-skilling of its current workforce as its preferred option over using labour imported on temporary or other work visas? 3. In addition to ensuring Australia has an adequate supply of ICT professionals, it is important that we maximise the ability for our citizens and businesses to effectively use ICT. There are still many areas within our communities that are essentially ICT illiterate, limiting the economic and other benefits that can be gained from ICT. (a) What initiatives will your party undertake to improve ICT literacy within the Australian community? 4. All types of innovation -- technological and non technological activities -- will drive the next level of productivity gains within the Australian economy. Increasing the level of commercial investment in R&D and commercialisation of intellectual property will be key to achieving these productivity gains. (a) What initiatives/activities/policies does your party propose to increase the amount and extent of commercial R&D and subsequent product development in Australia (as opposed to pure or strategic research)? 5. Government is the single largest customer for the ICT industry in Australia. Government procurement practices can make a real difference to Australia's ICT SMEs by acting as important reference sites for those seeking to enter the export market. (a) What initiatives will your party put into place to better facilitate SMEs successfully tendering for government ICT contracts? 6. Both major parties have announced major broadband infrastructure plans as part of their election platforms. (a) Why is your party's broadband policy better than your opponents? (b) What pathway do you propose to upgrade the broadband infrastructure from the 10 to 30 megabits/sec that are currently being proposed to the gigabit/sec speeds that are going to be necessary within 10 years or so? 7. If elected to government, will your party have a dedicated ICT ministerial portfolio? 8. If elected, what will be your government's top three ICT-related priorities?

The responses:

Senator Stephen Conroy -

I would like to begin by thanking the Australian Computer Society for allowing me the opportunity to present Labor's future plans for the information communications technology (ICT) sector.

Information communication technology (ICT) is a unique industry. It is an integral part of almost every sector of the economy and permeates into every virtually every aspect of our lives. ICT is a knowledge based industry from which new markets are created, jobs are generated, new businesses are fostered and productivity gains are increased.

Despite this, the fundamental importance of ICT has not been widely recognized in Australia. As an example, the forecast in the latest budget statements showed that productivity growth in Australia was zero in the 2006-2007 financial year. Further, the Treasury has estimated that Australian productivity growth will average only 1.5 per cent per annum until 2010. Labor believes this is not good enough, and is a reflection of the lack of regard that the Howard Government has shown the ICT sector over the past ten years. We only have to look at our Asian neighbours, including South Korea and Japan, to see what far-sighted government policy can achieve in the ICT sector, and economy as a whole. Contrary to the views of the Government, a world leading ICT sector is a central part of Labor's economic agenda for sustaining Australia's prosperity over the next decade. A strong and vibrant ICT sector will drive productivity growth, improve our competitiveness on a global scale and keep the Australian economy strong. To ensure this, Labor has identified three key areas on which to focus visionary ICT policy: infrastructure, innovation and the nation's skills. Infrastructure

The debate surrounding the roll-out of broadband services across Australia has dominated media attention in the past months, in the lead-up to the federal election. However Labor has had its sights on improving Australia's broadband performance for a long time now. Two years ago Labor first committed to updating Australia's ageing telecommunications infrastructure to ensure all Australians have access to significantly improved broadband services.

The impact of broadband on Australia's future is well known in the ICT industry. Labor recognises this, and is aware that we are about to embark on a critical step that will direct Australia's future. It is of fundamental importance that we get it right. If we fail to implement a scalable, future proof broadband network in the very near future, Australia and in particular the ICT industry, will suffer. A poorly thought out broadband plan will not only be a waste of taxpayers' money but it will undoubtedly inhibit Australia's potential, socially and economically. That is why earlier this year the ALP launched its plan for a National Broadband Network under a Rudd Labor Government. A fibre to the node network (FTTN) that reaches 98 per cent of Australians promises to turn around Australia's broadband performance. Over this network, 98 per cent of Australians will experience minimum connection speeds of 12 megabits per second and the remaining 2 per cent will have improved broadband services.

Labor's FTTN will be funded using a public equity injection of up to $4.7 billion, combined with a partnership from the private sector. The proposed network will have genuine open access, ensuring healthy competition in the telecommunications sector, putting downward pressure on consumer prices.

To this end, Labor's genuine open access FTTN would require both equivalence of access charges, and full scope for access seekers to differentiate their products, by allowing access speeds, quality of service and contention ratios to be customised. In addition, Labor will ensure there is upfront investment certainty so that investors know the regulation they will face before they invest.

To deliver the FTTN network, Labor will set up a public tender process that best serves the national interest. Parties wanting to tender will be asked to detail their investment plans and publicise both the scale of their investment, and the technical specifications of their proposal.

A Rudd Labor Government would also call on parties who submit a proposal to outline how they would make use of the public equity injection, valued up to $4.7 billion. Firstly, to ensure their proposal delivers a minimum 12 megabits per second to 98 per cent of Australians. Secondly, to ensure their proposal results in improved broadband services to the remaining 2 per cent of Australians.

I would like to now outline the advantages of Labor's broadband plan, in comparison to the Government's proposal. Labor's broadband plan is superior to the Howard Government's proposed deployment technologically, socially and economically.

From a technological perspective, Labor recognises that while a number of technologies will compete in the access environment, the ultimate solution is fibre based. For example, the wireless solution WiMAX is theoretically capable of transmitting data at 70 megabits per second. Data transmission in a single channel of an optical fibre backhaul system is typically performed at a rate of 10 to 40 gigabits per second. The theoretical limit for transmission capacity or bandwidth in a fibre optic link is effectively unlimited, compared to wireless counterparts. Thus, a fibre network is a truly scalable infrastructure.

Furthermore, in an optic fibre network there are no issues with spectrum. On the contrary, the WiMAX solution proposed by the Howard Government, to provide broadband services to Australians living outside of the five major cities, does have significant issues with spectrum. The Optus-Elders group OPEL do not own spectrum that is used for WiMAX in other jurisdictions. This means that the Howard Government's network is restricted to shared spectrum, which leads to a number of key issues, most notably: 1. Power limitations apply to data transmitted using the shared spectrum, which will severely limit overall transmission distance. Industry experts have expressed concerns that the Government's plans for a 20km radius per wireless tower will not be achieved under the 4 watt power limitation imposed on the shared spectrum.

2. The higher frequency of the shared spectrum, compared to the typical WiMAX transmission frequencies used in other jurisdictions, means that broadband services under the Howard Government's scheme will be severely affected by interruptions to line of sight vision between the customer's premises and the transmission tower. That is, topological variations, vegetation, buildings etc will prevent significant numbers of Australians from receiving broadband services under the Howard Government's plan. 3. The data rate delivered using a WiMAX solution is shared between multiple users. Rather than delivering a minimum 12 megabits per second to customers, the Howard Government will deliver up to 12 megabits per second shared between multiple customers.

4. Because use of the shared spectrum in WiMAX deployments is atypical, under the Howard government's plans Australians will require customised computer chipsets in order to access bandwidth delivered over a shared spectrum. In other words, laptop computers will not be able to receive the broadband service.

5. The WiMAX service offered by the Howard Government may suffer from interference, due to the fact that other household appliances share the same spectrum.

From a social perspective, it is important to recognise that Australians living in regional and rural areas should not be discriminated against on the basis of where they live. That is why Labor's FTTN will extend to 98 per cent of Australians, and is not just targeted at the five major cities, as has been proposed by the Howard Government. The 2 per cent of Australians that are not served by the FTTN network will receive a standard of service, which depending on the available technology, would be as close as possible to that provided by the new network.

From an economic perspective, Labor is proud to say that they are investing in Australia's future. It is an example of our commitment to ICT related policy. We believe very strongly that a national broadband network will ensure Australia's future prosperity. With specific respect to the ICT sector, we expect to see a large number of new ideas being commercialised, which will serve to boost the ICT sector. Finally, Labor's proposed FTTN network is future proof. We will ensure private partners will incur a commercial return on their investment. In turn this will lead to future infrastructure investments, ensuring a migratory path to high bit rate systems. It should also be noted that interested parties including Optus/G9 and Telstra have both indicated that they will tender for VDSL 2+, rather than ADSL which was originally announced. If this is the case, Australians will experience connection speeds between 20-50 megabits per second.

Early in the piece Labor recognised that a successful, scalable and future proof broadband network was critical in ensuring Australia's future. That is why we spent time considering a carefully thought out plan to roll out broadband infrastructure to benefit all Australians, before making public announcements. We are aware that our proposed FTTN network will take more time to roll out than the Howard government's plan, but we are not proposing a quick fix solution. Rather, Labor is committed to turning around Australia's broadband performance for the long term. This fact demonstrates that Labor has and continues to lead the way with telecommunications policy. Skills

The need to invest in the nation's skills has also been prominent on the political agenda in recent times. The skills shortage, particularly in the ICT sector, is already having a crippling effect on Australian businesses. Therefore it is of critical importance that we encourage Australian youths to consider ICT related careers. To deliver this, we need to focus on the uptake of science based disciplines in both high schools and at universities.

Labor has been championing an education revolution, as a necessary foundation for boosting the nation's long-term productivity growth. We recognise that there is a critical need for a new National Curriculum to raise high school standards in a range of areas, including maths and science disciplines. To achieve this, Labor's "New Directions Policy for Maths and Science" will provide $111 million over four years to dramatically improve incentives for young Australians to study and teach Maths and Science. This will be achieved by cutting HECS fees in half while students are studying at University, and further halving them for graduates who go on to work in a relevant maths or science occupation, including teaching.

Examination of the performance of the Australian ICT sector shows there is much work to be done to ensure the sector is delivering the graduates and skills the Australian sector needs. However, we recognise that university enrolments have fallen over the past five years. Monash University laid off 22 full-time academic staff in 2005, and has since cut its course offerings. As a result, enrolment at the school has fallen by 50 per cent since 2001. Similarly the University of South Australia has lost 40 per cent of its undergraduates since 2001. In 2003 the University of Canberra closed its engineering school and this year Flinders University is not enrolling any new students in computer, electronic or biomedical engineering. Reduced enrolments in ICT courses will have serious consequences for Australia's future, and only serve to worsen the skills crisis over time. Inevitably this will mean either importing foreign workers, or moving the Australian ICT sector off shore. Labor strongly believes that neither of these outcomes is desirable - especially if they can be avoided through proactive government policy.

It is therefore of paramount importance that the Government implements procedures to actively attract young Australians to study ICT related disciplines. Labor believes that there is potential for the Government to work with the ICT industry to increase interest in, and most importantly, perception of ICT careers. By doing so we will ensure that out best and brightest high school graduates consider ICT degrees for tertiary eduction. To achieve this, a Rudd Labor government would be keen to work closely with the state governments through a revitalized Online and Communications Council. This will provide a forum to advance issues such as increasing Australian ICT literacy, improving ICT skills and exploring international export opportunities for the Australian ICT sector.

Innovation

Labor believes that government has an important role to play in creating an environment that is conducive to innovation. As such, Labor has developed a detailed plan for facilitating increased investment in innovation in Australia.

Firstly, Labor wants to build a culture of innovation and new ideas by strengthening investment in creativity and knowledge generation. To this end, Labor has committed to establishing ten Enterprise Connect centres around Australia at the cost of up to $200 million over four years. The aim of the centres will be to connect business people with ideas people, and to foster the generation of new ideas. Additionally, Labor will restore the chief scientist to a full-time position.

Secondly, Labor wants to focus incentives for business research and development to promote global competitiveness, delivering the best outcomes for exports and economic growth. To achieve this goal, Labor is currently reviewing the current research and development tax concession arrangements and export assistance programs. We will make an announcement on the results of this review over the coming months.

However, Labor recognises that to better facilitate small and medium enterprises tendering for government ICT policies we need to ensure contract sizes are not prohibitive and that professional indemnity procedures are easy to follow. Furthermore, Labor wants to ensure that intellectual property resulting from government contracts remains with the third party. Labor believes that this will encourage innovation.

Finally, Labor wants to review the bewildering array of government innovation and industry assistance programs that have emerged over the past decade to reduce duplication and improve effectiveness. There are currently 169 state and federal government programs for innovation. Labor wants to reduce this red tape and cut back on the complexity of the current swathe of programs. We believe that in simplifying the process we will foster, rather than inhibit, creativity.

In conclusion, I would like to comment on convergence. With technologies like the i-phone just around the corner for Australians, we are moving ever deeper into a convergent world. In turn, the lines between technology and different types of communication are becoming blurred. For this reason, Labor believes it is important to overlap ICT portfolio with communication. As, such Labor will retain the DICTA portfolio.

I would again like to thank the ACS for allowing me this opportunity to outline Labor's proposal for an ICT future.

Senator Helen Coonan -

The Coalition Government is justly proud of the growth in the critical ICT industry since 1996. We have worked hard to support an industry which has developed an international reputation for leading-edge innovation and high value-adding.

We recognised early on that it was critical to get the fundamentals right. A strong economy, low government debt, a flexible workforce and taxation system that encourages enterprise and research and innovation were essential. We delivered and the results speak for themselves.

We have created over 2 million jobs, many of them in the ICT sector. Demand for skilled ICT professionals increases year on year, and there are now over 85,000 more ICT professionals in Australia than 10 years ago.

Labor has been missing in action on ICT, but we have always considered it a priority. A responsible government has to - the sector contributes to around 4.5% of GDP and is estimated to have contributed to between 50 and 80% of productivity gains in Australia over the last two decades.

The Coalition continues to work toward the strategic framework for ICT that it put in place in 2003 which establishes the following priority areas:

• Sustained government and industry leadership • A world-class ICT R&D base • A skills capability base • Secure communications infrastructure • Supportive environment for innovative ICT businesses • Culture of risk-taking and innovation • Effective and coordinated approach to e-government.

ICT skills development The sector has rebounded strongly from the dot-com bust of 2001 and in doing so has created new challenges, chief among them a need for new and skilled workers. The Government canvassed a broad range of stakeholders through the PartICipaTion Summit in September 2005; and commissioned industry expertise through the ICT Skills Foresighting Working Group which submitted its report in 2006.

The outcomes of these processes are currently being taken forward through the Industry Leadership Group (ILG) on ICT skills. The ILG has a range of projects under way which address issues such as improving ICT labour market intelligence and increasing awareness of the benefits of ICT careers, particularly in key demographic groups such as women and young people. The ILG also recently agreed to adopt national branding for ICT awareness campaigns using the "Start Here. Go Anywhere" brand.

The Government recently sponsored an ICT industry training initiative, led by the Australian Information Industry Association and the Australian Computer Society, aimed at addressing retention issues facing women in the ICT sector and encouraging the development of an ICT workplace that is attractive and flexible. The initiative was delivered in the form of workshops in every mainland capital city.

There is more to do in this area, but reducing workplace flexibility and increasing red-tape and third-party interference will be a body blow to the industry. Measures to improve the attractiveness of ICT for students and new entrants, training opportunities and industry partnerships is the Coalition's desired way forward.

R&D/product development National ICT Australia (NICTA) was established in 2002 to undertake leading edge research and education, facilitate commercialisation of research and establish linkages with the private sector. Total funding for NICTA is $380.5m to 2011.

NICTA has established five ICT laboratories; employs over 300 research and support staff; and is preparing several spin-off companies to commercially develop NICTA research outcomes. NICTA's current research themes are: • Embedded systems • Making sense of data • Managing complexity • Networked systems

NICTA has filed 12 complete and 26 provisional patent applications and launched two spin-out companies, Audinate and Open Kernel Labs. NICTA's current research collaborators include IBM, Ericsson, Microsoft, Siemens, DSTO, University of Adelaide, University of South Australia, UC Davis, SITCRC, CSIRO, WATRI, Software Engineering Australia and TU Berlin. The ICT Incubators Program currently supports eight incubators across all states and the ACT. When the program concludes in 2008 it will have provided some $120m in funding. To date, incubated firms have attracted over $275m in private co-investment and generated over $75m in exports. The Government's Industry Statement announced on 1 May 2007 provides more than $1.4 billion over 10 years to assist Australian industry to integrate into global markets, including: • The $254.1 million Global Opportunities programme to help Australian firms win work in global supply chains and major projects; • Continued support through Austrade to pursue export opportunities arising from the Aust-US FTA; • The $351.8 million Australian Industry Productivity Centres to help firms review their business performance and capitalise on new market opportunities; • More than $500 million to extend eligibility of the 175% Premium R&D Tax Concession; • The new $90.3 million Commercial Ready Plus Programme which will encourage additional research and development in small firms; • $20.1 million over five years to encourage technology transfer through the new Intermediary Access Programme ; • $21.5 million over four years for the development of a National Nanotechnology Strategy; • $36.2 million over four years to develop niche manufacturing industries based on nanotechnology; • $89.2 million over ten years to develop and maintain an online registration system for both the Australian Business Number (ABN) and state and territory business names; • $14.3 million over two years to extend the Building Entrepreneurship in Small Business Programme for another year; and • $54.2 million over four years to support R&D in the food processing industry.

SME involvement in ICT procurement The Government's policy of simplified ICT procurement arrangements to assist SMEs specifies minimum SME participation levels in large ICT contracts. For ICT contracts of $20 million or more, Australian Government agencies are to ensure that their tenders meet minimum SME participation levels of:  10 percent for hardware of contract value; and  20 per cent for software/services of contract value. The Government has amended its policy on ICT liability policy so that unlimited supplier liability is only included in ICT contracts when there is a compelling reason, rather than as the norm. Guidelines provide a comprehensive risk management framework for agencies to follow in setting appropriate liability limits in ICT procurement contracts. Enabling capping of liability is particularly relevant to SME ICT firms. Our whole-of-government approach to the management of IP by Australian Government agencies will ensure that SMEs are in a better position to capitalise on IP developed in government contracts.

Broadband policy Australia Connected is the Government's first-class initiative that will ensure 99 per cent of the population has access to fast affordable broadband within the next two years. This remarkable revolution represents a world-first for a country of the size and challenging population spread of Australia. Australia Connected involves a mix of optic fibre, ADSL2+, WiMAX fixed wireless broadband and satellite platforms across metropolitan, regional, and rural Australia. These networks will also be scalable to achieve greater speeds in the future.

The new network will be built by OPEL, a joint venture between Optus and Elders. It will be funded by a overnment grant of $958 million and a commercial contribution of $917m by OPEL.

It is a major, nation-building undertaking to create equity of access to ensure equal opportunity and improved quality of life for all our citizens. In turn, this will aid the nation as we strive to maintain and enhance our international competitiveness.

The Australia Connected package combines prudent overnment investment in cutting edge infrastructure in the less populated and commercially less-viable areas, with private-sector funding of a high-speed optic fibre broadband network in the built-up areas of capital cities and major regional centres.

Importantly, the technology is scalable and will ensure consumers in regional and rural areas keep pace and pay prices on a par with those available in metropolitan areas.

Labor's plan would create enormous disadvantages in country areas for business, for education opportunities and for health facilities. It risks creating two nations - the haves and the have-nots.

Fast and affordable broadband access should not be a privilege for the majority, but a fundamental right for all. Australia Connected will ensure that no one is left behind.

CONCLUSION The Coalition Government is committed to working toward an even stronger ICT industry in Australia. We understand ICT and have delivered on our 2004 election commitments. We will do so again if re-elected later this year. We will be releasing a comprehensive ICT industry policy closer to the election.

Rest assured we will identify impediments for growth and find exciting and innovative ways to overcome them in partnership with industry. Equally, we will continue to do all we can to ensure that business, large and small, has the tools to capitalise on opportunity as it arises.