MEDIA RELEASE

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ACS Delivers Strategic Vision for Australian IT

Sydney, 18th February 1997 - The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has delivered its Strategic Vision to establish Australia as an international force in the Information Industry within 10 years.

In a major submission to the Information Industries Taskforce: A New Information Industries Strategy for the Nation", the Society highlights the need for urgent action by both Federal and State Governments to raise the profile of, and commitment to, the information industries.

"Few would dispute that the Information Industry will drive economic performance and community well-being in the most advanced economies for the coming decades and perhaps even the next century," said ACS Vice-President Prins Ralston, who coordinated the submission.

"Many other countries, recognising the importance of the Information Industry, are moving quickly to harness it for the benefit of their citizens. Australia must move quickly or be left behind," he warned.

The ACS submission presents a vision to: "establish Australia within the next 10 years as a regional and international industry leader in the design, development, trialing and commercialisation of innovative information products and services for improving community well-being."

It brings together the results of commissioned research by leading consulting firm, KPMG, as well as input from a panel of prominent industry leaders and independent experts in the areas of information, communications and services.

The document calls for the formation of a Cooperative Industry Development Program designed to:

* establish productive collaboration between Federal Government Departments;

* harmonise and establish cooperation between Federal and State Government initiatives; and

* address the multi-billion dollar trade deficit for services, communications, information and technologies.

"Australia has one of the worst trade performances in science and technology of OECD countries despite high expenditure and a technologically sophisticated population," said Mr Ralston.

"In dollar terms, we import seven times as much as we export. While there has been improvement, it doesn’t come close to what is required. Australia must find ways to create a strong export-oriented Information Industry or suffer a declining standard of living."

As part of its submission, the Society has revisited the issue of Commonwealth and State portfolios for Services, Communications, Information and Technologies (SCIT) to focus and develop export potential, coordinate efforts across all governments to exploit the convergence of these industries and capture the benefits of globalisation.

The ACS previously raised this issue in the lead up to the last Federal election when it proposed the formation of an Information Industry portfolio in Cabinet.

At the time, Associate Professor Karl Reed, Director of the ACS Computer Systems and Software Engineering Board, highlighted a critical need for Government policies to have as their overriding objective, the development of the domestic Information Technology industries.

"Little has changed in the past 12 months, except that other member countries in the South East Asian Regional Computer Confederation (SEARCC) region, most notably Malaysia, the Philippines, Japan, India and Singapore, have taken significant steps towards establishing themselves as regional powers in this field," said Mr Ralston.

"Australia must move quickly if it hopes to become a strong participant in the rapidly evolving information industries.

"Australia can achieve improved trade performance with orchestrated cooperation among all industry participants and the government, and could reap an annual improvement in Australia’s overall balance of trade of between $5 billion and $20 billion," he said.

Other specific action items raised by the ACS submission include:

* Establish a Cooperative Permanent ‘Information Industries Council of Australia;

* Provide industry Growth Incentives including investment incentives;

* Promote the Australian Information Industry globally;

* Tune education and training program’s to support the industry growth drive;

* Become pro-active on international bodies;

* Encourage professional accreditation standards;

* Review and enforce industry development program obligations; and

* Develop a Training and Education Culture in the industry.

For more information or to obtain a copy of the ACS Submission to the Information Industries Taskforce, call the ACS National Office on 1800 626 029.

This media release is located on the Web at: http://www.acs.org.au/news/iitsub.htm

ENDS

Media Enquiries:

Prins Ralston, ACS Vice President, Tel: (0889) 466 264 or (0418) 898 456, Email: p_ralston@darwin.ntu.edu.au

Arthur Dyster, ACS CEO, Tel: (02) 9299 3666 or (0419) 610 613, Email: arthurd@acslink.net.au

Caroline New, Caroline New PR, Tel: (02) 9630 2108 or (0411) 889 456, Email: cnew@acslink.net.au