The Australian Computer Society has requested more details of the strategic alliance announced on Friday 16 July, between the ACT Government and Telecom Australia.
While welcoming initiatives for development of the information technology industry in the ACT, Mr. Tom Worthington, Director of the ACT Community Affairs Board and a member of the ACS Canberra Executive, commented that the announcement contained few details. He suggested that a broader initiative, involving many of Australia's information technology companies, including Telecom Australia, may be better for the ACT community. He also said that consultation with community bodies, including the ACS, may enhance the potential for benefits with the proposed projects.
The Australian Computer Society, a 14,000 member professional body for information technologists, has been active in providing advice and support to all Australian governments on computer and communications industry development for more than twenty years.
In early July the ACT Government asked the ACS for ideas on how to bring the benefits of digital communications to the Canberra community. In response the ACS issued a request for ideas to the global Information Technology community, via a worldwide computer network. More than fifty thousand "bytes" of electronic replies were received, from as far as California. A summary of the ideas was presented to the ACT Government in early June.
ABOUT THE ACS: The Australian Computer Society is the professional association in Australia for those in the computing and information technology fields. Established in 1966, the ACS has over 14,000 members and on a per capita basis is one of the largest computer societies in the world. The ACS announces activities on the Usenet News group "aus.acs", available via the Internet.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Tom Worthington, Director of the Community Affairs Board Fax: 06 2496419 Australian Computer Society Inc. Internet: tomw@act.acs.org.au G.P.O. Box 446, Canberra A.C.T. 2601, Australia
By Tom Worthington, President of the Australian Computer Society.