| TOPIC 1: The future of the Australian economy The future of the Australian economy will depend on having an educated workforce. The skills needed for this digital economy will be vital to our future. Computers and networks will be essential to the future, as is access to information. The principles developed by computer professionals for the creation of "Open Source" software have now been expanded to "Open Access" licenses for publications and other information. This can aid government, industry, education and individuals, encouraging the transfer of ideas and promoting Australia worldwide. Also by making for more efficient computer systems and networks, this can reduce carbon emissions. Some proposals: * Encourage Open Access to Information: Reform Australian copyright law to allow the more open use of information. Australian Governments could set the example by removing copyright restrictions on the information it publishes and aiming to have 85% of information available under a open access license by 2020. In addition Governments could require that the results of research they fund at universities be made available for free online. * Encourage Open Source Software: Limitations on the development of open sources software, so that its development receives the same tax and other incentive as other development should be introduced. Australian Government could set an example by lifting restrictions which prevent their staff from working on open source projects. * Encourage Open Access to Educational Material: Australian Governments fund the development of educational material, which is then sold by the educational institutions who develop it. In most cases the sales make a loss and only act to block access to the material. Australian Governments could require open access to educational materials they develop and fund. More on this in my web site at: http://tomw.net.au/ TOPIC 2: The productivity agenda - education, skills, training, sciience and innovation Australia can cultivate a cultured high technology image to develop and promote its information industries. The raw material of IT is talented people in a stimulating environment. Marketing of the products they produce can also be helped by the cultural reputation of where they produce it. More at: http://tomw.net.au/nt/arcadia.html TOPIC 7: Options for the future of Indigenous Australia Education services in remote indigenous communities could be improved by the provision of broadband linked education facilities. These could then also be used for improving access to mainstream programs by Indigenous Australians and for preserving culture. More at: http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2007/07/flexible-learning-modules-for.html TOPIC 9: The future of Australian governance Australian Government could adopt: 1. The voting system for the ACT in Canberra, with fixed parliamentary terms and electronic voting. See: http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2006/12/e-voting-for-australian-elections.html 2. Online collaborative systems for cross agency, jurisdiction, induistry and community input. Such systems have been pioneered by the federal government with their GovDex system. See: http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2008/03/secure-web-collaboration-across.html TOPIC 10: Australia's future in the region and the world Australia should work with nations, international and non government organizations. One way is to support the development of web based open source systems which meet a need in Australia and can be provided free to the world. One area to do this in is disaster management systems. Australian Government should adopt a policy of making their web based information available in a form suitable for machine translation. See: http://www.tomw.net.au/2005/wd/sahana3.shtml |
Last modified: Wednesday, 9 April 2008, 05:41 PM