Industry: demonstrates business digital confidence and builds digital skills

Industry can contribute to Australia's digital economy by growing their online presence and ecommerce facility. Industry can also provide relevant input on its skills requirements and promote the development of digital skills to ensure high levels of professional expertise exists in Australia to support local digital economy companies and attract foreign investment.

Business digital confidence

Industry can contribute to Australia's digital economy by demonstrating greater digital confidence. "Digital confidence" refers to businesses being appropriately educated about the risks but also being sufficiently aware of the benefits, so that they productively and safely participate online.

Businesses that are digitally confident are more likely to incorporate technology into their business processes and enjoy resultant productivity improvements. Better use of the digital economy would enable Australian business to compete more effectively internationally and develop export opportunities in areas such as financial services, culture, architecture and planning.

Inspiring confidence among businesses to have an online presence and conduct commercial activities via networks such as the internet is an important part of growing Australia's digital economy. A greater online presence from Australian companies will also have a flow on effect of encouraging greater online participation by Australian consumers who are attracted by better online offerings. As discussed above, available data suggests that Australian businesses are not engaging with the digital economy as extensively as their international counterparts in other key jurisdictions.

SMEs account for 99 per cent of businesses in Australia.⁷⁴ Existing data suggests that the internet has become a key input for most Australian businesses, with 94 per cent of SMEs connected to the internet in 2008.⁷⁵ As one industry report notes, "there is now only limited scope for new connections, mainly among small businesses in specific sectors and regional areas, and the internet is part of the standard toolkit for any business."⁷⁶ However, the data also suggests that these high levels of internet penetration are not automatically translating into correspondingly high rates of businesses contributing to the digital economy. For example, the internet connectivity rate for the finance and insurance industry (100 per cent) and the retail trade sector (87 per cent) are matched, respectively, by 30 per cent and 43 per cent of businesses in those industries taking orders online.⁷⁷

The primary activities undertaken by Australian SMEs include email (98 per cent), looking for information (89 per cent) and getting reference information or research data (84 per cent).⁷⁸ Essential business processes such as sales and procurement, advertising or comparative market analysis all rank significantly lower. This suggests that Australian business is not yet using technology to its fullest potential to maximise efficiencies, improve their competitiveness and increase revenue opportunities.

Lack of customer demand or readiness is not identified by Australian businesses as a barrier to the development of a fully fledged e-commerce or online marketing strategy. Instead, businesses cite as barriers to e-commerce concerns about people hacking into the system and the cost and time of introducing new technologies.⁷⁹ Both of these reasons suggest a lack of confidence about security and a lack of appreciation of the benefits, which in many cases may outweigh the costs of adopting greater online presence. If Australian businesses lack the necessary digital confidence, then Australia may face a loss of international competitiveness and miss out on the economic and social benefits that productive digital economy engagement generates. These businesses are also potentially disenfranchising themselves and their customers. As the Australian Industry Group noted in its submission as part of the consultation process for the development of this paper, by failing to provide an ability to sell online, traditional retailers were disenfranchising Australian consumers, particularly those in remote areas.⁸⁰

The evidence that Australian business lags international counterparts in ecommerce points to a role for government to play in providing SMEs with appropriately tailored information to address any concerns they may have about the risks, and to provide clear details of the benefits of utilising digital technologies to improve their business performance. If Australian businesses do not respond to customer demand, Australians may learn to trust and engage with overseas companies, particularly for certain categories of goods and services. Australian businesses would also be missing out on the export opportunities offered by greater take up of the digital economy. In its recent review of the book industry in Australia, the Productivity Commission noted that the biggest trend for that industry was:

"[...]the growth in internet usage and the associated rise of online book retailers. Now, with a mouse click, Australian consumers can effectively parallel import books themselves, as soon as they are released anywhere in the world, taking advantage of different prices and format choices, as well as the GST-free status of books purchased online from abroad."⁸¹

The Australian Publisher's Association notes that the volume of online book sales in Australia is small compared to total sales.⁸² Nonetheless, this provides an example of how the internet provides alternative choices for Australians. Although current estimates quantify online book sales as only 5 per cent (equivalent to $100 million per year) of the total value of the estimated books market,⁸³ the proportion of this 5 per cent which is spent on foreign websites potentially represents a loss to the Australian market.

The promotion of digital confidence requires a delicate balance between highlighting and educating Australians about online risks and about online benefits. As one submission to the development of this paper argued:

"Almost all government consumer education campaigns since the mid 1990's have sought to alert the population to the risks of online transactions but have been limited in highlighting the benefits."⁸⁴

This suggests that in addition to the important work being undertaking to date in promoting e-security, cyber-safety and privacy, there may still be a role for government and industry to collaborate in promoting the benefits of the digital economy.

One recent initiative to provide businesses in the tourism industry with practical advice about how to utilise the benefits of the digital economy is the Tourism e-kit⁸⁵ produced by The Australian Tourism Data Warehouse, which is owned by all the state/territory government tourism organisations, as well as Tourism Australia. Within 14 days of its launch, there were more than 10 000 downloads of the entire program and thousands of downloads of the single tutorials.⁸⁶ This demonstrates that easy-to-understand, short modules highlighting e-business skills may be extremely useful to industry. Industry associations, with their sophisticated understanding of the characteristics and needs of their membership base are particularly well placed to provide this assistance.

The Government can also assist Australian businesses to access the knowledge, tools and expertise to improve their business. The Australian Government has dedicated $50 million a year for the Enterprise Connect initiative, which provides business advisory services to SMEs to help increase their productivity. Firms can obtain assistance to engage service providers to help implement changes that improve their business performance. Many firms use Enterprise Connect services to access advice and assistance to create or improve their level of e-business.

To further promote the benefits of the digital economy, the Australian Government announced the Small Business Online Program⁸⁷ in the 2009–2010 Budget through which small businesses can take advantage of e-business opportunities and to expand their online presence.

Digital skills

A high level of confidence in businesses in having an online presence and conducting commercial activities via networks such as the internet is another important part of growing Australia's digital economy. Digitally confident businesses will be more efficient. A greater online presence from Australian companies will also encourage more online participation by Australian consumers attracted by better online offerings.

To assist with training Australians in the skills that digital economy participants will require, industry can provide input through the Government's Productivity Places Program. The Productivity Places Program is part of the Australian Government's Skilling Australia for the Future initiative, involving more than $2 billion funding and more than 720 000 new training places over five years. An important part of implementing the Productivity Places Program is determining priority areas, identifying skills gaps and forecasting future skills gaps. With industry input, the program provides for new training places in skills that employers want.

In addition, industry associations play an active role in contributing to priority-setting and curriculum development for vocational ICT courses by advising Innovation and Business Skills Australia (IBSA) of their needs. IBSA is one of eleven industry skills councils (aligned by industry sectors) that work to improve the value of vocational education and training, and are catalysts for effecting change to create a more skilled and equipped workforce. IBSA's responsibility is to advance its industries through advocacy, networking, up-to-date intelligence and effective product and service development and delivery. However, many of the submissions received as part of the consultation process argued that basic ICT skills and digital media literacy training should be included in most non-ICT study. This suggests that industry may also need to work with Skills Councils other than IBSA to ensure ICT skills are included in non-ICT qualifications.

The Australian Government supports ICT research training and education by the continuation of support for NICTA. Funding for NICTA was extended in the 2009–10 Budget with $185.5 million over the four years to 2014–15. The increased funding certainty this decision provides will allow NICTA to increase its contribution to the long-term development of Australia's digital economy skills base.

NICTA develops Australia's ICT skills through its enhanced PhD program. NICTA has developed a common core curriculum that is delivered across the computer science and electrical engineering departments of its seven partner universities (ANU, UNSW, Sydney University, Melbourne University, Griffith University, Queensland University and QUT). In addition to developing broad technical expertise in the student's speciality, the PhD program is also designed to develop students' entrepreneurial and business skills. This is important to train graduates to commercialise basic research. NICTA supported students have been successfully in attracting major postdoctoral scholarships, such as the Fulbright Postdoctoral scholarship, and in achieving top places in international technology events such as the ARTEMIS Orchestra competition (for advanced robotic instruments).

Within Australia, industry also undertakes various initiatives to promote the attractiveness of ICT studies and to encourage the development of ICT training and education. For example, various industry and educational groups participate in the National ICT Careers Week,⁸⁸ which promotes the career opportunities available to ICT graduates under the banner Start Here, Go Anywhere. Individual companies also work to promote interest in ICT studies through contests and competitions, such as the Google Summer of Code,⁸⁹ which offers student developers stipends to write code for various open source software projects. In 2009, the program accepted eight Australians from more than 1000 students from around the world to work on approximately 150 open source projects with mentor organisations.

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Industry: adopts smarter use of technology to improve our environmental sustainability

Technology can assist Australia to better meet environmental challenges, for example:

• tools such as telemetry, satellite imagery and global positioning by satellite (GPS) assist us in understanding changes to our environment and furthers climate research
• technology such as smart meters and intelligent infrastructure can improve operational efficiencies and assist consumers to conserve energy and other scare resources
• teleworking and videoconferencing can reduce the need for travel and also provide for greater workforce flexibility.

It is also important to adopt strategies that reduce the environmental impact of information and communications technology.

The Australian Government has several initiatives designed to pilot and promote smarter use of technology to manage our environment and infrastructure. It is anticipated that successful demonstration of these technologies will result in significant flow-on innovation and technology uptake across Australia.

Technology facilitates climate research

Technology can assist us in understanding our environment and changes to our climate. Remote monitoring of key locations for climate research such as polar ice caps, glaciers, ocean beds and the upper layers of the atmosphere⁹⁰ and computer modelling allow scientists to collect data and predict environmental changes and their impact on our society. For example, the Land Monitor project⁹¹ systematically monitors the salt-affected land and remnant vegetation change over the agricultural area of south west of Western Australia. Land Monitor is a coordinated initiative set up by the National Dryland Salinity Program and supported by the CSIRO, Landgate, Department of Environment and Conservation, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, Department of Water, Water Corporation, and the Department of Planning and Infrastructure. The project combines satellite imagery, geographic data and digital elevation models, among other information, to produce a number of information products which are available to the general public and the projects partner agencies.

The Government is also providing $50 million for new high performance computing facilities as part of its Super Science investment in Climate Change research. The investment will enable researchers to better analyse and model climate change, earth systems and national water management issues.⁹²

Smart technology, intelligent infrastructure

Smarter use of technology can assist us in managing our natural resources, infrastructure and energy usage. In addition, it can deliver productivity gains and economic benefits.⁹³

One example of smart technology is smart meters, a more advanced meter than the standard mechanical meter, that identifies consumption in more detail than a conventional meter. Smart meters communicate consumption information via a network back to the local utility for monitoring and billing purposes. They can be used to measure household gas, water and electricity. They may also allow continuous measurement, time-of-day pricing information, and two-way communication between the device and the energy provider.

In June 2008, the Australian, State and Territory Government Energy Ministers committed to development of a consistent national framework for smart meters in the National Electricity Market.⁹⁴ Widespread deployment of smart meters, combined with in-home displays has the potential to improve operational efficiency and significantly reduce the amount of energy used by Australian households.⁹⁵ In addition, studies show that greater consumer awareness of energy consumption assists in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.⁹⁶

To demonstrate the ability of technology to utilise our existing energy infrastructure smarter, the Australian Government will invest $100 million in 2009–10, as the National Energy Efficiency Initiative (Smart Grid, Smart City)⁹⁷. Through this initiative, an integrated, commercial scale, smart grid will be constructed in one Australian city, town or region. This smart grid will see the electricity transmission and distribution network equipped with digital sensors and remote controls; with integration of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind and smart meters communicating information to and from the household. Such a self-aware energy network will enable greater energy efficiency, reduced emissions and better utilisation of renewable energy sources such as solar. A smart grid also has the capability to utilise the potential of electric vehicles to 'back up' the grid at times of peak demand.

A practical demonstration of the use of smart meters also forms part of the Solar Cities Program,⁹⁸ which is a partnership involving all levels of Government, the private sector and local communities. The program is designed to combine a number of energy efficiency measures for homes and businesses, the use of solar technologies, cost reflective pricing trials and community education. When fully operational, the selected "Solar Cities" will deploy more than 20 000 smart meters.

Smart technologies can also be used to optimise traffic flows, improve road safety and reduce emissions. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) combine computers, communications, positioning and automation technologies to provide real-time data about suggested routes, congestion, collision detection and avoidance.

Recognising the benefits of ITS, two such projects have been included in the 28 projects that Infrastructure Australia has listed as being of national importance in its National Infrastructure Priorities report⁹⁹ and the subject of further development and analysis, prior to making a final recommendation. The first is The Advanced Train Management System, which would enable digital monitoring of the rail network, providing more reliable rail services, operator savings and increased safety. The second is the Fully Controlled Motorways projects, which would integrate lighting, cameras, automated sensors and signals, driver information signs and emergency systems for better traffic management and traffic flow for 250km of motorways across Greater Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.¹⁰⁰

Intelligence can also be built into our physical infrastructure. 'Smart infrastructure' is capable of ongoing monitoring so that changes in physical structure or the environment can be identified before a crisis occurs. As Infrastructure Australia notes in its recent Report to the Council of Australian Governments, making the most of existing infrastructure can avoid many of the negative environmental and amenity costs associated with building new infrastructure. In particular, "technology can provide opportunities to unlock capacity in existing assets".¹⁰¹

Teleworking and video conferencing

Advanced communications technologies, including videoconferencing, allow people to communicate as effectively and efficiently as face-to-face communications. These technologies can make it unnecessary to commute to the office everyday to the office or to drive or fly for a face-to-face meeting.

One of the primary benefits of teleworking is that it enables greater workforce flexibility. It allows employers to attract and retain skilled people who may live in another city or people who are unable to be at a central work location due to family responsibilities or a disability. However, teleworking also offers environmental benefits. By reducing the need to commute for work, teleworking can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Similarly, video conferencing can remove the need to travel for face to face meetings, and increase productivity by saved travel time. The Australian division of Cisco claims that it achieved a 16 per cent reduction in air travel in a single year after it adopted videoconferencing and other tele-presence facilities.¹⁰² In 2008 Microsoft Australia saved $18 000 on a single quarterly management meeting of 130 people using its videoconferencing products Live Meeting and Roundtable.¹⁰³ Video conferencing technology has other benefits, for example, it can assist thedelivery of key digital economy services such as telemedicine and distance learning.

In February 2009, the Australian Government announced that telepresence technology¹⁰⁴ would be deployed across 20 Australian Government and state government locations for use in inter-governmental meetings such as the Council of Australian Governments and Ministerial Councils. This will lower government travel costs and associated greenhouse emissions by reducing the need for face-to-face meetings.

The Government is also establishing a whole-of-government teleworking policy for ICT staff in response to the Gershon Report.¹⁰⁵ The primary objective of this policy is to assist with recruitment and retention of suitably skilled ICT professionals within government. Secondary benefits include contributing to 'green' work policies. The policy is due to be completed by September 2009.

While many aspects of this technology have existed for a while, and there have been recent improvements in the technology, it appears that the cost to organisations, as well as knowledge and organisational attitudes may stand in the way of their more widespread adoption. A report by The Economist Intelligence Unit, based on a global survey of 345 private sector senior executives, noted slow adoption of telework despite the availability of the required technologies to achieve it.¹⁰⁶ In addition, the Sensis Insights Teleworking Report June 2007¹⁰⁷ surveyed the use of teleworking in SMEs in Australia and found that while 22 per cent reported the use of teleworking, they cited technical, administrative and supervisory issues as presenting barriers to greater adoption of telework.

Public submissions received in the consultation phase for the development of this paper diverged on the reason for the slow uptake. Some suggested that occupational health and safety (OH&S) laws were a hindrance to teleworking while others said OH&S was used as a furphy. Many suggested that awareness-raising was necessary and that greater examination could be given to organisational and behavioural issues. Some of these issues may be addressed by guidelines for implementing telework policies on the Telework Australia website.¹⁰⁸

Strategies to reduce the environmental impact of ICT

While technology can facilitate environmental awareness, it also raises new challenges that need to be addressed by both industry and Government to ensure that ICT has a net positive impact on the environment. The ICT sector is estimated to be responsible for about two per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions¹⁰⁹, and ICT devices comprise an increasingly large proportion of the world's waste. These impacts need to be addressed by co-ordinated strategies that minimise any adverse environmental consequences of the success of the digital economy.

Each stage of the lifecycle of the devices and infrastructure that connect and enable the digital economy is increasingly scrutinised from an environmental perspective. Energy efficiency requirements ensure that devices are 'greener' and increasingly have less adverse environmental impact during their life span. Product stewardship and e-waste (consumer electrical and electronic equipment waste) policies can minimise the environmental impact of a product at the end of its lifecycle.

Proposals are being developed to introduce mandatory performance requirements across the broad range of ICT equipment that facilitates the delivery of digital economy services. The Australian Government is currently negotiating with computer and monitor suppliers to develop agreed regulatory standards for those products.

In addition, steps need to be taken to reduce the environmental impact of data centres, which are part of the key infrastructure that enables the digital economy. Many data centres are zvenergy-intensive; however, savings are possible both in the power used to run the computer equipment and the equipment used to keep the data centre cool. Already various industry participants are increasingly incorporating techniques to run data centres on a more energy-efficient basis.¹¹⁰

The Australian Government is committed to pursuing in its own operations the same level of change it is seeking to implement in the broader community through its various climate change initiatives. These form part of the Government's response to the Gershon Report. It includes the development of a whole-of-government approach to data centre requirements over the next 10-15 years. Methods to reduce the environmental impact of data centres that are being considered include techniques to reduce the demand for electricity, water and harmful chemicals.

The Government is also developing a whole of government ICT Sustainability Plan, which will identify the standards that should be applied in Government purchasing of ICT products and services and include measures to improve the ICT environmental performance across government departments, particularly in terms of energy efficiency.

The generation of e-waste is a growing challenge in Australia. E-waste is one of the fastest growing categories of waste, growing at more than three times the rate of general waste. This is not surprising considering that several decades ago most houses had only a television, telephone and radio; whereas now a household may have several desktops and laptops, more than one television and several mobile phones in addition to a landline. Televisions, computers, printers and mobile phones include substances, such as lead and mercury, which are harmful if released into the environment. The rapid obsolescence of ICT devices also has a significant environmental impact. In 1992 the average life of a computer was 4.5 years. This has dropped to around two years.¹¹¹

In November 2008, Australian governments, through the Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC), agreed to develop a new National Waste Policy for Australia to 2020. This policy, which will be finalised by November 2009, will seek to provide environmental, social and economic benefits to the Australian community through a framework of guiding principles and relevant strategies, such as a national product stewardship framework. To assist discussions, the Australian Government released a National Waste Consultation paper in April 2009,¹¹² which includes consideration of the issues of product stewardship and e-waste.

Product stewardship can assist in minimising e-waste. As defined by EPHC, product stewardship is an approach that recognises that manufacturers, importers, governments and consumers have a shared responsibility for the environmental impacts of a product throughout its full life cycle.

There are some industry-led schemes that promote the recycling of e-waste. The Australian mobile industry runs the MobileMuster scheme which offers free recycling for all mobile phone brands in Australia. The industry claims that more than 90 per cent of the materials in mobile phones, batteries, accessories and chargers can be recovered and the small amount of potentially harmful substances safely treated. For 2007–08, the scheme collected an estimated 755 196 handsets and batteries.¹¹³

In addition, the Victorian Government in partnership with the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) and Apple, Canon, Dell, Epson, Fujitsu, Fuji-Xerox, HP, IBM, Lenovo, and Lexmark has been operating the Byteback computer recycling scheme.¹¹⁴ According to the latest figures, Byteback has diverted 1100 tonnes of e-waste from landfill.¹¹⁵ The scheme is due to end in mid 2009, with the lessons learned being considered by industry in preparation for a national approach.

In May 2009, and as one possible initiative under the National Waste Policy, Australian environment ministers committed to finalising product stewardship arrangements for computers and televisions, among other items, at its next meeting in November 2009. Ministers also welcomed the results of the ground breaking choice modelling study on computers and televisions. The study shows that the community has a high willingness to pay for recycling end of life televisions and computers. The EPHC asked that this study be released for public consultation in July 2009 as part of a Consultation Regulation Impact Statement.

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Industry: develops sustainable online content models

Online content serves an important role in the digital economy in several respects. As the OECD notes:

"digital content can provide new impetus for the digital economy, encouraging innovation, raising the level of skills, triggering dynamic developments and innovations in existing industries and creating new markets."¹¹⁶

Content is a significant draw for attracting Australians online and particularly in driving broadband adoption. Relevant online content will attract Australians online, particularly students and educators, and in the process, drive digital media literacy. Use of one type of online content can drive adoption of other forms of online content. For example, industry data indicates that gamers are more likely to engage with Web 2.0 media such as social networking, legal downloading and blogging.¹¹⁷

Countries that lack a sustainable local content industry risk:

• lower levels of participation in the digital economy because content is a proven drawcard
• slower skills development and lost investment opportunities
• dilution of our cultural identity, particularly if younger Australians mainly view overseas content on the internet.

While content is a key driver of digital economy growth, technology has a disruptive effect on the entertainment and media industries. The array of entertainment options available is fragmenting the market and the trend to digital teaches viewers new habits. These challenges are being felt by the content industry globally and in Australia. This is reflected in comments made during Disney Corporations' first earnings call for 2009 when Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger, announced the company's first-quarter profits fell 32 per cent on lower DVD sales and a drop in advertising at its broadcast and cable properties. He noted:

"Competition for people's time is increasing [...] [t]his clearly has had an impact on broadcast television and may have a long-term potential impact on the DVD business. We don't believe the changes we are seeing in consumer behavior can all be attributed to a weak economy, and we feel it is important for us to address them as more than just cyclical issues." ¹¹⁸

This trend towards digital is reflected in recent figures released by the Australian Recording Industry Association which shows that in 2008, while physical sales were down 12 per cent, digital album sales were up nearly 100 per cent in dollar value and 261 per cent in unit terms over the year.¹¹⁹

The digitisation trend is also changing customer habits and expectations. Increasingly, they expect an 'on demand' experience, that is, the ability to enjoy what they want, when they want, on the device they want. This has been facilitated by digital video recorders and online music and video sites that offer on-demand content for streaming or downloading.

Another disruptive impact from the digitisation of media has been on business models and revenues. Online revenue sources are increasingly contributing to the content industries bottom line. However, as Jeff Zucker of NBC Universal has commented, sustainable, long-term business models may not be possible if analog dollars are replaced by digital pennies.¹²⁰ This reflects concern that the rates of return for online content may not match offline figures.

The development of new and successful business models for the online environment is primarily an industry responsibility. Internationally, new models are emerging including movie studio Warner Bros' shrinking the release windows between DVD and online versions of its movies,¹²¹ the streaming video site Hulu¹²² and the hybrid model adopted by Nine Inch Nails with their album "Ghosts".¹²³

There are several examples of Australian online content providers competing in this difficult environment. Examples are the music and video downloads from Apple iTunes store and BigPond Music and BigPond Movies as well as the music discovery site bandit.fm. The local digital games industry, for example, consists of more than 45 major game software studios and employs over 1 400 people.¹²⁴

The popularity of the online content offerings of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) provides further examples of successful forays by Australian organisations into digital content. In 2008, the ABC had 49 million audio podcasts downloaded, another 18 million video podcasts were downloaded and an average of 2.3 million users a month visited its websites.¹²⁵ In 2009, the ABC's online audience is expected to rise at least 25 per cent.¹²⁶ Similarly, from the SBS website 887 000 radio and television programs were downloaded in 2007–08 and an average of 598 000 unique users per month visited the SBS websites.

The Government's role with respect to online content is that of an enabler. Through the National Broadband Network, the Government is providing significant infrastructure to support the growth of online content. For example both facilitating the exchange of files as part of production of large-scale digital content projects and also ensuring that consumers are able to interact with new online distribution models for digital content. In addition, government has a role to ensure that the necessary investment and skills are available within Australia and that our regulatory framework is supportive of a sustainable content industry.

The Australian Government has a number of initiatives directed towards the support of investment and skills development in the creative industries. For example, the Creative Industries Innovation Centre provides business advisory services to SMEs in the creative industries sector such as music, visual and performing arts, graphic design, games and interactive media.

Through its support of the ABC and SBS, the Government is directly promoting the development of local content and local skills. Specific recent programs include ABC Local online with funding of $15.3 million over three years under the Rural and Regional National Broadband Network Initiative to deliver more than 50 enhanced ABC Local Broadband Hubs in regional Australia. This funding will help establish community websites and portals and create "virtual town squares" for communities to share experiences. Additional funding is also being provided in the 2009–10 Budget for the ABC to support its plans to launch a dedicated children's digital television channel in addition to the ABC's existing programming on ABC1 and ABC2 that includes high-quality children's educational programming. This will be complemented by a variety of interactive elements and online content.

A number of submissions received during the consultation phase for the development of this paper argued that a role for Government exists in addressing the apparent popularity of peer-to-peer file sharing of music and movies, without the necessary permissions of the relevant copyright owners. File-sharing is cited by the content industry as a barrier to further investment in sustainable and innovative content initiatives in Australia. One solution proposed by copyright owners is a "three strikes" or "graduated response" proposal under which copyright owners would work together with ISPs to identify the ISP's customers who are suspected of unauthorised file sharing and the ISP would then send a notice on behalf of the copyright owner to that customer advising of this allegation. After multiple notices, a series of escalated steps could be taken with respect to the customer's account. Several submissions were received which opposed this proposal for reasons including the lack of judicial oversight of administering sanctions based on private allegations, the lack of public transparency about the process and concern over consumer rights.

The Government recognises a public policy interest in the resolution of this issue. On the one hand, the Australia economy benefits from a sustainable content industry and from a general respect for legal rights. On the other hand, issues relating to due process and consumer privacy are important. The Government is currently working with representatives of both copyright owners and the Internet industry in an effort to reach an industry-led consensus on an effective solution to this issue.

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[74] Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008) 8166.0 Summary of IT Use and Innovation in Australian Business 2006-07. This percentage includes businesses with employment size 0-4 persons, 5-19 persons, and 20-199 persons.

[75] Sensis (r) e-Business Report: The Online Experience of Small and Medium Enterprises, July 2008 p.4.

[76] Ibid p.10

[77] Ibid p.26

[78] Ibid p.13

[79] Ibid. p.30.

[80] Australian Industry Group, Future Directions - Digital Economy Consultation Paper, (Feb 2009) p.15 (last accessed; 25 June 2009).

[81] p.1.3, Restrictions on the Parallel Importation of Books, Productivity Commission Discussion Draft, March 2009.

[82] Ibid p.2.1

[83] Coalition for Cheaper Books (sub. 218, p. 1), as reported on p.2.8, Restrictions on the Parallel Importation of Books, Productivity Commission Discussion Draft, March 2009

[84] p. 2, Submission to the Digital Economy Future Directions Paper, Australian Interactive Media Industry Association, February 2009

[85] See www.atdw.com.au/tourism_e_kit.asp

[86] Stan Beer, 'Government funded e-marketing kit hits 10 000 downloads in days' iTWire 21 October 2008 (last accessed 25 June 2009).

[87] The Hon Dr Craig Emerson MP, Budget Boosts Small Business Incentives and Support by More Than $500 million, Media Release 12 May 2009 (last accessed: 25 June 2009).

[88] See www.acs.org.au/ictcareersweek/

[89] See http://socghop.appspot.com/program/home/google/gsoc2009

[90] See www.prlog.org/10016875-using-remote-sensing-to-monitor-global-climate-change-data.pdf

[91] See www.landmonitor.wa.gov.au/

[92] See the Department of Innovation, Industry and Research website.

[93] Access Economics, The economic benefits of intelligent technologies (May 2009), p. 37.

[94] Ministerial Council on Energy, Communique, 13 June 2006 (last accessed April 30, 2009).

[95] Department Resources, Energy and Tourism, 'Smart Meter Decision Paper MCE' 13 June 2008.

[96] M. Dennis & H. Jones, 'Broadband Communication Enables Sustainable Energy Services', Telecommunications Journal of Australia, vol 57, no. 2/3, 2007, 25.1, at 25.7.

[97] A Sustainable Nationa, p.10

[98] See www.environment.gov.au/settlements/solarcities/index.html

[99] National Infrastructure Priorities, May 2009.

[100] Ibid.

[101] Infrastructure Australia, A Report to the Council of Australian Governments, December 2008, p. 29-31 ( last accessed April 30, 2009).

[102] Climate Risk, Towards a High-Bandwidth, Low Carbon Future, (2007) p 46 ( last accessed; 25 June 2009).

[103] Microsoft IT Showcase, 'Microsoft Uses Roundtable to Improve Productivity, Lower Costs and Reduce Carbon Footprint', October 2008 (last accessed: 25 June 2009).

[104] The Hon Lindsay Tanner MP, 'Australian government signs teleconferencing deal with Cisco and Telstra', Media Release, 27 February 2009 (last accessed: 25 June 2009).

[105] See supra note 48.

[106] Economist Intelligence Unit, Managing the company's carbon footprint February 2008.

[107] Sensis, The Sensis Business Index: Teleworking, (July 2007) (last accessed: 15 April 2009).

[108] Case studies and other information about teleworking are available at Telework Australia and Department of Innovation, Industry and Research website viewed 15 April 2009

[109] Gartner, 'Green IT: The New Industry Shockwave', presentation at ITXPO Conference, April 2007.

[110] See, for example, Google Data Centres and MacDataCentre

[111] Dr Maxine Cooper, Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, 'E-Waste Think Tank Review and Synthesis', May-June 2008, p. 5

[112] See www.environment.gov.au/wastepolicy/index.html

[113] See www.mobilemuster.com.au/annual_collection_figures

[114] See www.bytebackaustralia.com.au/

[115] See www.bytebackaustralia.com.au/news-and-media

[116] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Digital Broadband Content 19 May 2006, p. 6 ( last accessed: 25 June 2009).

[117] IEAA, Interactive Australia 09, figure 21, p 25.

[118] R. Scott Raynovich, 'Disney Dinged by Flight from DVDs, Economy' Contentinople, February 4, 2009 (last accessed February 25, 2009).

[119] Australian Recording Industry Association, 'ARIA releases 2008 wholesale sales figures', 11 March 2009.

[120] Michael Learmouth, 'Zucker Says Apple Deal Rotten', Variety, 27 October 2007 (last accessed: 25 June 2009).

[121] Saul Hansell, 'Warner Brothers to Rent Movies Online Sooner' New York Times 30 April 2008 (last accessed: 25 June 2009).

[122] See www.hulu.com/

[123] Michael Masnick, 'Serving Your Fans: The Trent Raznor Case Study', (February 2009) (last accessed: 25 June 2009).

[124] ABS, Digital Game Development Services, Australia, 2006-07 cat. no. 8515.0

[125] Paul MyIntyre, Media Held Back by Download Limits, SMH 19 February 2009, (last accessed: 25 June 2009).

[126] Supra n 41, p. 8

[127] See www.abc.net.au/