ACS Reiterates $16 Billion IT Deficit

Monday 23 September 2002 - The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has reacted in surprise to the release by the Government of "new" figures showing Australia had an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) trade deficit of $11.3 billion in 2000-2001, saying the data is incomplete and out of date.

"The ACS used this and other data to reveal a trade deficit of almost $16 billion for 2000-2001 in October last year, when it was largely ignored by the Government," said ACS President Richard Hogg. "This is old news and doesn't accurately reflect the full picture."

Mr Hogg said the data released last Thursday used a restricted definition of ICT, while the data used by the ACS also included software licensing fees, communications products like cable modems and equipment used in broadcasting, and point of sale equipment like electronic cash registers, scanners and ATMs.

"This data has been available for over 12 months. In fact, the ACS is already gathering data from the 2001-2002 financial year and plans to release an updated report on the ICT trade deficit by the end of October this year.

"We anticipate that the new figures will be significant higher than the $15.8 billion deficit recorded in 2001," he said.

The ACS is also critical of the Federal Government's lack of concern about the ICT trade deficit generally and its insistence that it is enough for Australia to be a good user of ICT products and services.

"While Australia clearly cannot compete in the manufacture of some of the commodity products, there are numerous niche markets where we have significant expertise and, with the right support and encouragement, could emerge as a global leader.

"We were previously recognised world leaders in programmer productivity, and telecommunications technology, but have let both of these opportunities fall through our fingers. In an industry that is moving so rapidly, the windows of opportunity are only open for comparatively short periods of time and if we don't take advantage of them, they are lost forever.

"We need to apply a new methodology of reacting to these opportunities as they present themselves, and not try to apply the same approaches that might have worked for the slower moving traditional markets where Australia has led the world. There is a litany of Australian innovations that have been commercialised elsewhere because we have not been able to do so.

"We cannot afford to continue focusing on traditional industries like mining and agriculture. Clearly, the future allocation of wealth will be dictated by the extent to which a country has embraced and leveraged information technology to create marketable products and services for world markets," he said.

"People and governments who do not recognise the value of having a strong, dynamic local ICT sector, instead of becoming a consumer of the global marketplace, don't understand that all future innovation will rely on ICT innovation."

This media release is available on the ACS Web site at http://www.acs.org.au/news/230902.htm

ENDS

About the Australian Computer Society: The ACS is the recognised association for information technology (IT) professionals, attracting a large and active membership from all levels of the IT industry and providing a wide range of services to its 16,000+ members. A member of the Australian Council of Professions, the ACS is the public voice of the IT profession and the guardian of professional ethics and standards in the IT industry, with a commitment to the wider community to ensure the beneficial use of IT. See the ACS Home Page for more information.

Media Enquiries:

Richard Hogg, ACS National President, Tel: (0408) 549 531, Email: richard_hogg@acslink.net.au

Caroline New, PR Consultant, Tel: (02) 9555 1986 or (0411) 889 456, Email: cnew@acslink.net.au