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FEDERAL BUDGET: Wish list - what the industry wants

Call for investment in digital economy, more technology R&D and education

With the 2011-2012 Budget to be released tonight at 7:30pm, the industry is eagerly awaiting the country’s future financial direction.

IT industry consultant, and former Australian Information Industry Association CEO, Ian Birks, said his Budget wish list includes a hearty dose of investment in the digital economy.

“The main thing we need is a heightened focus on the digital economy take-up and awareness along with associated policies and funding,” Birks said.

He said e-health, smart online education and teleworking should all be brought to the forefront and given adequate funding.

“The government is focusing a lot on the National Broadband Network (NBN), but there’s not a lot of emphasis on what we do with it,” Birks said.

No reduction of spend on government ICT would also be desirable, he said.

“We need to improve government service delivery through ICT,” Birks said. “We’d also like to see electronic waste legislation fully supported.”

IT industry veteran, and former EMC staffer, David Henderson, wanted to see more technology R&D and education.

“R&D and education are so important in order to deliver this clever country conversation,” Henderson said.

“The NBN is a long way to answering that, and having access to the latest technology,” he said.

Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.

More about: Australian Information Industry Association, EMC, etwork

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