At 08:04 3/07/01 +1000, Tony Barry wrote (was: "[LINK] Labor's blueprint
for power"):
>... Labor's plan to make Australia a knowledge nation.
>http://email.emailit.com.au/kct123127712.6291.0.24425
"Report Of The Knowledge Nation Taskforce" is at:
http://www.alp.org.au/kn/kntreport_index.html
Some assorted comments below. I will be expanding on this at a press
conference for Internet World 2001 on Thursday in Sydney (media contact:
Amanda Millar mailto:amillar@ppr.com.au) and in the keynote talk for the
Third Australian IT Directors' Summit on Friday at Noosa
<http://www.tomw.net.au/2001/eal>.
Overall this is a worthwhile report, but not much more than a compendium of
recommendations of previous reports and is no substitute for practical
policy proposals. As an example the ALP might propose to change the ATO's
current policy which assumes independent IT consultants are tax avoiders.
If there is no improvement in the next few months then Australia's IT
professionals may have to negotiate a bulk deal to take up Irish
citizenship. ;-)
REPORT FORMAT
The report is provided in assorted formats and has been prepared with
accessibility in mind. The version I used is one large web page and is only
271 kbytes of reasonably clean HTML, prepared with something called
EditPlus <http://www.editplus.com/>. The images are relevant and around
only 10kbytes each. This is not the usual multi-mbyte glossy brochure with
irrelevant photos of happy ethnically balanced voters. If the content of
the report shows as much care and technical sophistication as its
formatting, then the country will be well served.
Being a suspicious individual I did a quick plagiarism check using Find
Same <http://www.findsame.com> but didn't find any.
TOO CLEVER FOR ITS OWN GOOD
The report gets a bit too clever for its own good in places. Perhaps it
inherits that fault from the Chair of the Taskforce which prepared it, the
Hon. Dr Barry Jones AO, FAA, FAHA, FTSE, Minister for Science 1983-90,
National President ALP 1992-2000, Visiting Fellow Trinity College
Cambridge. An example of excessive cleverness is the use of the term Cadastre:
>We have adopted this unfamiliar term as a convenient way of describing a
>comprehensive National Inventory or Knowledge Bank.
That may be academically sound, but just provides political ammunition for
critics of the report, as in common use a Cadastre is what you use for
administering land tax
<http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/lawreform/fences/masterdocument.pdf>:
>`inventory of land parcels in any state or jurisdiction containing
>information about the parcels regarding ownership, valuation, location,
>area, land use and any buildings or structures thereon'.
REPORT LAYOUT
The report has a very clear structure and is well laid out:
>Contents:
>Abbreviations
>Key Characteristics Of A Knowledge Nation
>The Knowledge Nation Taskforce
>Membership Of The Knowledge Nation Taskforce
>Summary Of Recommendations
>Introduction By The Taskforce Chair
>The Case For Change
>Australia - An Under-Performing Knowledge Nation
>What Is To Be Done?
>Appendix: List Of Submissions
>Glossary
RECOMMENDATIONS
There are 20 recommendations
<http://www.alp.org.au/kn/kn_report_020701.html#5>:
>Recommendation 1 The Prime Minister must take the lead in advocating
>Australia as a Knowledge Nation, domestically and abroad, acting as a
>catalyst to change the culture to that of a Knowledge Nation....
Not much of practical interest in that one.
>Recommendation 2 The Commonwealth should coordinate with the States and
>major research organisations the development of a comprehensive and
>broadly available inventory (cadastre) of Australia's resources and
>knowledge capacity, as a basis for action and policy formulation. The
>information gathered must be accessible to all Australians.
Stripped of its cute name of "cadastre", this is little more than a web
based directory of Australian research capability. Quite useful and not
hard to do using the same techniques as for the
Whole-of-Australian-Government Search Architecture
<http://www.acs.org.au/president/1997/sewg.htm>, but hardly
earth-shattering stuff.
>Recommendation 3 Australia should increase its public and private sector
>R&D performance by: Doubling Australia's overall R&D as a percentage of
>GDP by 2010, bringing Australia to the top of the OECD tables.
It is very easy to suggest an increase in funding for research
<http://www.tomw.net.au/nt/arcadia.html#dirst> but will it happen?
>Increasing support for the CRC program while ensuring rigorous selection
>processes for the establishment of new CRCs. This should include the
>creation of a number of additional CRCs in ICT, environmental management
>and biotechnology.
The problem of the lack of a way to get developments in ht IT area from
CRCs into companies appears not have been addressed. Just having a company
provide some of the funding for a CRC has not resulted in the company
making use of the results.
Perhaps the ALP could adopt some Open Source friendly policy
<http://www.anu.edu.au/mail-archives/link/link0106/0439.html>:
"Our government will support new innovative approaches to technology
business. Within one month of achieving office we will ensure all
AusIndustry and other support schemes to ensure that developers in the open
source software industry can apply for grants and other forms of support.
The benefits from this change will accrue to the whole Australian economy."
>Using the Australian Defence Force's acquisition program to support
>Australia's high-technology industry base and encourage research and
>development of leading-edge technologies.
How to get DSTO to work with Australian companies
<http://www.tomw.net.au/egov99/ntl.html> is not addressed.
>We must also change Australia's culture to ensure greater recognition of
>the importance of prudent risk taking and entrepreneurial activity in
>commercialising Australia's world-leading research.
A good start would be to fund training in intellectual property and
commercialisation issues for research students.
>Recommendation 4 The Commonwealth Government should undertake a thorough
>review of the impediments to the commercialisation of Australian research,
>in targeted emerging industries.
We probably already have enough reviews, we just need some implementation
of policy.
>Recommendation 5 The Commonwealth should make it an urgent national
>priority that all Australian households and businesses have the option of
>access to digital broadband.
Previously the ALP promised a blueprint for extending the optical fibre
network to the majority of houses, businesses and schools in Australia (on
page 20 of "Advancing Australia, Building on Strength", presented by Paul
Keating at Bankstown on 24 February 1993). Telstra and Optus installed
hybrid copper/optical analogue cable which has proved to be a waste of
several billion dollars. Broadband access in itself is not necessarily good
for the nation. We need a more targeted approach.
>Key industries 2: Making Australia a world leader in biotechnology
Sounds reasonable, but few details compared to IT initiatives.
>Recommendation 6 The Commonwealth must build on Australia's strengths in
>medical research by adopting a goal of making Australia a world leader in
>biotechnological research, development and commercialisation by 2010.
Seems to duplicate the IT approach. Perhaps we need a more general hi-tech
policy?
>Funding an Australian Genome Project and a National Proteomics Project to
>concentrate research effort and build on existing Australian strengths.
Could make good use of the excessive number of super computers we seem to
have underutilized around the country. ;-)
>Creating a network of biotechnology business incubators.
These might be usefully combined with the IT incubators.
>Recommendation 7 ... ten-year program to tackle the problems of salinity,
>land degradation and acidification of soils, polluted rivers and sea coasts ...
Might also usefully address third world issues.
>Recommendation 8 Australia must aim to become a world leader in online
>education at all levels within the next few years, winning at least 10 per
>cent global market share of revenue...
10% is a bit high, 1% would be reasonable.
>Recommendation 9 Australia should develop and implement a strategy to make
>Australia a leading provider of health services to the AsiaPacific region.
Mention of "telehealth capacity" is interesting.
>Recommendation 10 Australia must ensure that by the year 2010, a minimum
>of nine out of ten young people leave their teens with a Year-12 or
>equivalent qualification, and that all young Australians achieve a formal
>education or training qualification at the post-compulsory level.
Good.
>Recommendation 11 The Commonwealth and the States should overhaul and
>modernise Australia's schools by ...
>making ICT literacy a core component of learning alongside literacy and
>numeracy by providing ongoing training for teachers in the use of ICT in
>the classroom, ensuring there is a national educational Internet portal
>for all schools and members of the community to use, expanding 'cyber
>libraries', making Internet access more affordable for all schools, and
>encouraging schools to develop and share high-quality online curricula; and ...
But how much money?
>Recommendation 12 The Commonwealth should tackle the university funding
>crisis by: boosting the number of university positions by an amount
>necessary to meet industry needs and maximise Australia's capacity as a
>Knowledge Nation by 2010; ...
But how much money?
>Recommendation 13 Australia's vocational education and training system
>should be strengthened by: increasing funding to TAFE, targeted towards
>strategic industries and skills and those in the community who are in
>danger of being excluded from the Knowledge Nation;
But how much money?
>Recommendation 14 The Commonwealth Government should develop a
>comprehensive National Early Assistance Strategy for Australia's children
>and families, encompassing all levels of government and local communities...
But how much money?
>Recommendation 15 Provide an adequate level of funding for the ABC as the
>quintessential Australian portal and to ensure a well resourced, genuinely
>independent and truly national public broadcaster...
This doesn't seem to have anything to do with the rest of the report and
its inclusion seems to just open the report to political attack.
>Recommendation 16 The Commonwealth should create an inventory of all
>recent Australian graduates with research degrees who are living abroad,
>and a register of resumes and contact details for private sector employers...
This has some privacy implications and presumably would be an "opt in" scheme.
Recommendation 17 There should be a National Information Policy to ensure
access and equity in securing knowledge, to set out the rules by which
information will be available as a public good, outside commercial
exploitation, and to provide the basis of public policy that will be
applicable to new technological developments... Important ABS data is free
of charge to those who need it...
A bit weak. I suggest adopting the US approach where government information
is free and freely available by default.
>Recommendation 18 Australia must adopt a National Population Policy that
>is based on a national, rational debate about Australia's carrying
>capacity and the implications for resource use ...
This doesn't seem to have anything to do with the rest of the report and
its inclusion seems to just open the report to political attack.
>Recommendation 19 The humanities, social sciences and creative industries
>in Australia should be strengthened by ...
But how much money?
>Recommendation 20 To drive the creation of the Knowledge Nation across
>government(s) the Commonwealth should: adopt a whole-of-government
>approach to the creation and commercialisation of knowledge ...
Not much of practical interest in that one.
ps: I was pleasantly surprised to find the ALP web site has a text-only
option as the first link at the top of the home page <http://alp.org.au/>.
But as well as the word "text" they have a graphic icon to represent the
text option, which seems a little counterintuitive. Also pressing tab skips
the word "text" and goes to the icon. Both the word and the icon have the
alternative text "text only site", which further confuses the situation. It
would have been simpler to just have the words "text version" and no icon
or alternative text.
Tom Worthington FACS tom.worthington@tomw.net.au Ph: 0419 496150
Director, Tomw Communications Pty Ltd ABN: 17 088 714 309
http://www.tomw.net.au PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617
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Australia's IT Landscape, 6 July Coolum: http://www.tomw.net.au/2001/eal
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