NBN to benefit local government

Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy has recently highlighted how the National Broadband Network will benefit local government.

The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has spent a lot of time and effort highlighting the various benefits that the controversial National Broadband Network will bring to Australian consumers and businesses once it has been fully rolled out.

He has now also highlighted how the NBN will help and benefit local government, stating that a $17.1 million program will help to improve local government services. Conroy was speaking recently at the National General Assembly of Local Government in Canberra. He was referring to the Digital Local Government program, which he said would help local councils in delivering services.

Conroy stated: “The Digital Local Government program is a key component of the National Digital Economy Strategy which was unveiled last month, and builds on the $23.8m Digital Communities and $12.4m Digital Enterprise programs. The Government’s National Digital Economy Strategy set a goal that by 2020, four out of five Australians will choose to engage with the government through the internet or by other types of online service. The program aims to develop solutions that can be adopted by other councils and rolled out across the country as the NBN rolls out, leading to a step change in the quality, availability and speed of local government services.”

He said that local councils could apply for grants individually but that it would benefit them to partner with private sector vendors, adding: “Industry has an important role to play in working with local governments to develop innovative applications made possible by the NBN – ultimately enhancing the quality, accessibility and responsiveness of local government services.”

Source – DBCDE