MEDIA RELEASE

Senator Alston to Chair Regional E-Commerce Summit at SEARCC’98

Friday, 28 November 1997 - Federal Communications Minister, Senator Richard Alston, will chair a regional electronic commerce summit at next year’s South East Asian Regional Computer Confederation conference, SEARCC’98* , to be held in Darwin from 8-10 July.

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) proposed the regional summit last month in the wake of the Government’s announcement that it would hold domestic talks on the subject in March 1998.

Senator Alston has met with ACS officials, including President-elect, Prins Ralston, in Canberra, to discuss IT-related issues within his portfolio as well as his involvement in SEARCC’98.

In welcoming the opportunity to chair the regional e-commerce summit, Senator Alston also accepted an invitation to present a Keynote paper on the Information Economy at the SEARCC’98 conference.

"We are very pleased with the outcome of our talks with the Minister, and believe we have established a solid platform for further on-going discussions throughout my Presidency, which will building on the work carried out by the current President, Tom Worthington," said Mr Ralston, who takes over the top job in January.

"Senator Alston was quick to recognise the value of a regional summit on e-commerce timed just a few months after work begins in earnest on an Australian policy and indicated it would help validate the Australian findings. The potential benefits of 15 South East Asian nations working together on joint e-commerce initiatives cannot be understated."

SEARCC events have traditionally been opened by the head of Government of the host nation, and with many of the region’s senior Government and IT people visiting, Prime Minister Howard is expected to take up an invitation to open the event in Darwin.

Mr Ralston said the Senator also indicated the Australian Government would officially invite participation for the e-commerce summit from nations throughout the region.

During the meeting, the ACS raised concerns about the Government’s plans for nurturing the Australian IT industry and queried what initiatives it planned in response to the recent Goldsworthy, Mortimer and Cutler Reports.

"We expressed our support in particular for the recommendations of the Goldsworthy Report and discussed a number of key initiatives we felt would provide valuable assistance to the domestic industry," said Ralston.

"In response to concerns voiced about the high cost of telecommunications infrastructure in Australia, Senator Alston agreed that the Government was also aware of this issue and was monitoring developments closely, recognising the impact these costs will have on the growth of e-commerce in Australia."

Mr Ralston said he hoped this week’s meeting was the first of many between the Minister and the ACS which provided the opportunity for open communications on issues affecting the profession, the industry and Government.

* The annual conference and exhibition of the South East Asian Regional Computer Confederation (SEARCC), SEARCC’98 is expected to attract 1,000 delegates from SEARCC’s 15 member nations. The three-day event will operate across three major streams: The On-Line Economy and Trading in Asia; Virtual Education and Training; and Frontiers in Aerospace and Defence.

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

ENDS

Media Enquiries:

Prins Ralston, ACS Vice-President, Tel: (0411) 755 069, Email: P_Ralston@ntu.edu.au

Caroline New, Caroline New PR, Tel: (02) 9980 8060 or (0411) 889 456, Email: cnew@acslink.net.au