Page 3331 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 18 September 2013

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(e) that faster broadband, especially the National Broadband Network, encourages digital literacy and innovation in households and businesses;

(2) further notes:

(a) that NICTA, Australia’s Information Communications Technology (ICT) Research Centre of Excellence, is Australia’s largest organisation dedicated to ICT research and its Canberra Research Laboratory is undertaking world leading and world renowned ICT research activities;

(b) the innovative and important work undertaken by NICTA’s Canberra Research Laboratory and its contribution towards shaping an innovative and diverse ACT economy;

(c) the ACT Government was a founding member of NICTA, and has provided sustained and significant funding and in—kind support to NICTA;

(d) that NICTA has a staff of 55 full—time researchers and 50 PhD students who are working to develop technologies that will meet the current and future needs of Canberra and the nation;

(e) the close collaboration between NICTA, the ACT Government and local universities, including establishing a number of projects where NICTA’s advanced ICT expertise can add value to the issues the ACT Government faces as a service deliverer; and

(f) that the proposal to cut $42 million in funding for NICTA over two years, which was announced by the new Commonwealth Government before the Federal election, will substantially impact NICTA’s capacity to continue undertaking research and development; and

(3) calls on the Assembly to:

(a) support the ACT Government’s continued funding and support for NICTA;

(b) lobby the new Commonwealth Government not to implement the proposed funding cuts; and

Madam Speaker, today I would like to outline the importance of the digital economy to growth in the ACT. Let me begin by giving you a vision of the digital world in 2020. The roll out of the national broadband network will be the building block for the digital economy. By 2020 all government agencies will be using digital platforms as a major channel of service delivery.

New digital technologies and digital platforms are, of course, enablers of public sector delivery programs and initiatives, and digital services are a fundamental part of that

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