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Connecting Victoria

The Victorian Government's Strategy for Information and Communications Technologies The Hon John Brumby MLA Minister for State and Regional Development November 1999

Introduction

This is an historic day for the Victorian Parliament. First, because this is the first major Ministerial Statement of Government policy made in the Victorian Parliament for six and a half years. And second, because the Bracks Government is today committing to a major information society strategy, Connecting Victoria.

Connecting Victoria is our strategy for growing the information and communications technologies (ICT) industry and for sharing the benefits of these technologies across the entire Victorian community.

Today, Victoria faces a challenge of great magnitude. In moving to a knowledge-based society, we - the Government, the Parliament, and the Victorian community - have a choice. We can let new technologies further divide our society into winners and losers - the information rich and the information poor. Or we can harness the potential of the technology to develop the whole State and maximise opportunities for all our citizens.

This Ministerial Statement is about a strategy for connecting all Victorians. It is about positioning Victoria as the nation's ICT leader. It is about building Victoria as a knowledge economy. We recognise the previous Government for its work on information and communications technologies. We are well placed today as a high-tech centre of excellence. But the previous Government's efforts focussed too heavily on international firms at the expense of local industry. They did too little for small businesses and home businesses. They forgot country Victoria.

The Bracks Government will use these technologies to build a prosperous and fair society for all Victorians.

As Minister for State and Regional Development, Victoria's most senior economic development Minister, I will make it my personal responsibility to maintain Victoria's national leadership. The information society agenda is no longer separate from the main economic and social agenda - it is mainstream. Today I shall outline six major strategy elements that support the Government's goal to grow the ICT industry and to share the benefits of these technologies across the whole of the Victorian community:

1. Building a learning society
2. Growing the industries of the future
3. Boosting e-commerce
4. Connecting communities
5. Improving infrastructure and access
6. Promoting a new politics.

These are just the start. More will follow over the coming months, as the Government further develops specific initiatives to be implemented over the life of the Parliament.

The Connecting Victoria Ministerial Statement is available in pdf format (105kb). (This document requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader). .