VOTING FOR OUR DIGITAL FUTURE. With election day approaching, Infoxchange is encouraging voters to consider Australia’s digital future. What are the policies regarding affordable access to digital technology? It remains an alarming fact that in 2013, 1.8 million households have no internet connection, and as technology plays a critical role in participating in today’s society, digital inclusion should be a priority for our future government’s agenda. The National Broadband Network (NBN) is the main technological focus during this election campaign, with both the Coalition and Labor committed to its rollout. Labor’s NBN promises to provide faster upload and download speeds, whereas the Coalition believe their NBN will be cheaper and available to all sooner. This discussion affects many Australians because of our growing reliance on digital technology – from accessing every day and essential services, to staying connected with our communities and current affairs. The NBN will also determine what other possibilities will be available in the future, having a large impact on areas such as employment, emergency services and health care. Sadly, many Australians continue to be left on the wrong side of the digital divide. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reports only 53% of people with a disability and 41% of people aged 60 years or over, used the internet in 2009. This is a significant proportion of our population who are at risk of being further socially excluded, simply by not being able to participate in the everyday activities involving digital technology. According to the 2011-12 Regional Telecommunications Review, many communities in regional Australia lack the digital literacy and digital confidence required to really benefit from the NBN. For people with a low income, affordability is another potential barrier towards digital equality. Providing high-speed broadband access alone will not address digital inequality in Australia. To narrow the digital divide, innovative thinking and planning is required around training, affordability and access. The Rudd Government plans to deliver the majority of government services online by the end of 2017. Initiatives such as myGov - an online portal for services such as Medicare and Centrelink – means Australians can access government services without physically visiting offices. For those who stand to benefit the most from this, lack of internet access and digital literacy skills could mean missing out on these online opportunities. The internet, and access to it, is now deemed a human right by the UN. Given that the internet is also fast becoming the engine room for the modern global economy, all political parties need to take a planned and strategic approach to all aspects of digital policy. Infoxchange encourages voters to carefully consider all of the major parties’ policies on the NBN and digital inclusion. The outcome of the election not only has implications on individuals’ personal internet use, but will also have a lasting impact on our economy and the future of inclusion in our society. For further information see the major parties’ NBN and Digital Economy policies, listed in alphabetical order below. •Coalition’s Plan For Fast Broadband and An Affordable NBN policy •Green’s NBN: Connecting All Australians policy •Labor’s Advancing Australia as a Digital Economy Strategy including NBN communitynews.infoxchange.net.au/infocast/
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 01:35:53 +0000
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