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The little island that could

Peter Davidson, Information Age

14/12/2005 12:59:45

I want to tell you a story today about a little island at the edge of the world. The little island struggled along for years with high unemployment, debilitating levels of net debt, low levels of private investment and declining population - and under the weighty label of "economic basket case".

These were tough times for the little island and the so-called paupers in paradise; everyone waited patiently for its fortunes to turn around, while all around it, the world was changing faster than ever before.

About six years ago the island's fortunes did turn around. That island, my home state of Tasmania, has experienced the most remarkable transformation in recent history.

Tasmania's transformation story has many themes: It is a story of leadership, courage, taking risks, being bold, of having faith in our people. It is also a story of looking out at where the world is going, of knowing our place in the world, and having the confidence to step out onto the world stage.

Through Tasmania's story I want to show you how a regional economy can turn its fortunes around. By knowing our place in the world Tasmania is now positioned to take advantage of two important global changes: the population and environmental pressures on our major cities, and the rapid advancements in information communication technology.

Now we have taken our first steps toward being a truly creative regional economy. But before we could take these steps we had to get the economic fundamentals right. And we have.

Today, we have unemployment at 5.8 per cent - down from 11.5 per cent only eight years ago and we are also seeing record levels of private investment, record levels of business confidence, and record visitor numbers.

And we even have Sydneysiders who are making the move south contributing to our record population growth - no doubt looking for a slower pace and cleaner air.

Tasmania's unique environment, where 42 per cent of our wilderness is preserved, is a major attraction for visitors and for people seeking a lifestyle change.

We have progressive social policies that are leading the nation, such as our Relationships Act giving same-sex couples the opportunity to register their relationships, and our cultural fabric is getting richer with international festivals like Ten Days on the Island that celebrate our sense of place.

And these are just the right ingredients to attract what Professor Richard Florida calls the creative class - he says it is creative people, innovative thinkers, who will drive the growth of regional economies into the future. It is true that throughout Western economies the stimulus for economic growth is changing.

The Tasmanian Government understands that our future depends on creating high-value products and services, developing unique products, and learning faster than our competitors. We now know that innovation is the key and I will say more about the steps we have taken to build the technological infrastructure we need to drive economic growth.

But before I do, I want to take you back in time, because this isn't the first time Tasmania has been an innovator in communications technology.

In the 1820s, Van Diemen's Land, as it was known, became one of the first colonies to use the new moving arm telegraphic semaphore. At that time, if the weather was good, a reply to a 20-word message from Hobart to Port Arthur could be expected in 15 minutes. This was considered very efficient at the time.

Leap forward a few decades and the first telephone call in Australia was made in Tasmania, connecting Launceston and Campbell Town.

In those days and for many decades since, Tasmania's geographic isolation was our biggest disadvantage. Now, in times of greater insecurity and environmental degradation throughout the globe and advances in information and communications technology, our geographic isolation is our best asset.

We are now making better use of ICT as an enabler for our regional economy to make the most of its competitive and comparative advantages. Our ICT industry is small, but it is creative, and it has the potential to be a major driver of the State's economic growth.

The State Government recognised a long time ago that for Tasmania to be competitive in the modern global economy we needed high-quality broadband infrastructure.

The building of Basslink undersea electricity cable across Bass Strait, linking our state to the National Grid, provided an opportunity to lay an optic fibre cable alongside. This cable is expected to be operational in 2006, and will give Tasmanians an alternative optic fibre connection with mainland Australia.

In 2002, an optic fibre backbone connecting north, north-west and southern Tasmania was laid in the open trenches of the new natural gas backbone pipeline. The Tasmanian Government's ownership of the fibre backbone enables us to be more innovative in the delivery of broadband to Tasmanians, and because of the size of our island it is an ideal test bed.

Tasmania is now the home of two ground-breaking international trials: the Tasmanian Collaborative Optical Leading Testbed or TasCOLT, and Broadband over Power Lines (BPL).

TasCOLT is a significant development for Australia, as it trials the commercial viability of rolling out very high-speed broadband network services, through optic fibre, to the door of homes, businesses, health and education institutions. This is the first time Corning's third generation optic fibre roll-out technology will be used outside the US.

Three areas of Tasmania will participate in the trial that will start in Hobart in late November. This groundbreaking trial will involve broadband speeds capable of delivering the widest range of digital services and applications available in Australia today, and it will use the optic fibre network that the State Government purchased.

This project will give us important information about the installation, deployment and operation of ultra-broadband services to households, businesses and institutions in Tasmania, and ultimately inform us as to whether the take-up by the community is sufficient to make further roll-out of the technology commercially viable.

TasCOLT provides a range of next-generation communications services including ultra high-speed data and Internet access, and multiple simultaneous voice or phone lines. It also gives access to high-definition television, interactive TV and home entertainment, home security, power and gas metering, and videoconferencing.

The trial also opens up possibilities in eLearning and eHealth where large amounts of bandwidth are required.

In addition to Corning, the project is attracting global leaders in communications such as Hitachi, Intel, Cisco and Acer.

Tasmania is also home to another pioneering trial - Broadband over Power Lines by Aurora Energy, our retail electricity government business enterprise. Aurora recently launched eAurora with Mitsubishi Electric to pursue the commercial trial of 200-megabit broadband over powerline technology.

This is this first commercial trial in the Southern hemisphere, where broadband speeds up to 12 megabits per second and low-cost phone calls will be available from a standard household power point. A smaller number of customers will also be involved in trials of video via the power point.

BPL uses existing infrastructure, the power lines, and if successful will revolutionise the connection of Tasmanians to broadband services.

Another ground-breaking project, the Tasmanian Research and Education Network, or TREN, also uses the Government's optic fibre cable.

This builds on Tasmania's strengths in areas including eLearning, eHealth, aquaculture and marine science. It is a collaboration of a number of high-profile research bodies that are based in Tasmania - including the University of Tasmania, CSIRO, the Australian Antarctic Division, the Australian Maritime College and through the Basslink cable, connects to AARNet.

We are also investigating the potential to take advantage of rapid advancements in the use of wireless telecommunications systems.

By investing in broadband infrastructure we are giving our regional economy the best chance of developing clever, creative niche markets.

One of our innovative companies is Blue Rocket cartoon shop. Blue Rocket has produced more than $3 million worth of cartoons and interactive products since they set up shop in Hobart in 2002.

In January this year, Blue Rocket signed a deal with Swedish company Telcogames, to distribute mobile phone entertainment, including games, wallpaper, ring tones and characters. While lack of access to optic fibre has not prevented their growth to this point, it does threaten future global opportunities for further growth.

This company (and there are others too) is an important part of our creative regional economy, and we aim to foster an environment that encourages more companies with innovative products for global application.

Also, Tasmania recently hosted a visit by Professor Sakamura from the University of Tokyo and Director of YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory (UNL).

He came to examine collaborative IT research opportunities between UNL and Tasmania, as well open a joint R&D facility with a local IT firm called Neoteck. The Neoteck-UNL Ubiquitous Computing Laboratory is a development that will advance the research, development and application of ubiquitous computing in Tasmania.

This research partnership will allow Neoteck to focus particularly on the use of ubiquitous computing in eHealth - an area in which Tasmania has recognised strengths. It is a valuable partnership, and shows how IT companies in regional economies can reach out to form valuable relationships with national and global IT firms.

So as you can see, these are exciting times for the little island at the edge of the world. We are building on our competitive advantages; we know our place in the world and we have an eye to the future.

We have set ourselves the goal of becoming a more creative regional economy, and we are investing in the technology infrastructure that will help us reach that goal.

I invite you to take a closer look at Tasmania, and to be a part of our exciting future.