Fcous on eGovernment

There is a pervasive view that while Australians are early adopters of new technologies, Australia is not a new economy. Australia is generally regarded as an old economy, relying on primary industries or manufacturing to support its relatively high standard of living.

This is not helped by the images Australians project abroad. From Paul Hogan to our golden beaches, to the Outback to selling its wines and lamb and so on, promotion of Australia abroad is in line with the view that it is a land of milk and honey, the proverbial lucky country, not a go-getting, entrepreneurial, knowledge-based society. A factual example might help us to understand what is actually going on.

In Australia ten years ago or so, mining, agriculture and manufacturing stock made up 74% of the stock market's value, with finance and services stock adding up to only 26%. Those proportions have reversed in the last decade, with mining, agriculture and manufacturing making up one third, and finance and services stock two-thirds.

Another pertinent fact: Australia is one of the leading countries in the world in terms of internet infrastructure, penetration and use. Australia regularly ranks among the top five countries in international (for e-government ranking, see here).

Don't misunderstand me, it would be foolish not to sell Australia as a great tourist destination (check out Floriade) and exports of primary - especially mining - or manufactured products will continue to be very important economically and socially, even in the 21st century.

However, if Australia wants to attract the level of interest and investment required to build its future, it needs to project a more complex, sophisticated image.

Australia needs to establish itself as a unique tourist destination, as a producer of resources for the world, and as an innovator in technology and its useseconomic and social uses.

In the words of Michael Krokenberger, the 21st century will require us to build a "cool, light and dry economy", based on"innovation, knowledge, doing more with less, value adding, being clever".

This is not a new challenge for Australians. Building on old virtues. Since Europeans arrived and before Europeans arrived, Australians have pioneered many imaginative solutions to social, cultural, political and technological problems.

The Australian bent for innovation is due to many causes, including the circumstances of the original settlement by Europeans. The harshness of the natural environment, the fragility of the soil and the scarcity of water, together with the blend of many cultures that have settled in Australia, have demanded creative problem solving.

Australians have a talent for crafting ingenious solutions to complex problems. Some solutions responded to uniquely Australian problems, like the stump-jump plough for agriculture. Other great Australian ideas had more universal application, like the black-box flight recorder for aircraft.

Many of these innovations have been widely adopted in other countries, often in societies that are larger, wealthier and more powerful, such as the USA. Australians do not innovate for the sake of novelty or in an effort to be different or to impose their preferences on others. They take a hardnosed and pragmatic approach, focused on realising the undoubted social and economic benefits technology makes possible.

The School of the Air and the Royal Flying Doctor Service are good examples of the positive results that can be obtained by marrying technological solutions to social needs.

The extent of Australian innovation, creating new solutions and new ways of using old solutions, is highlighted by events such as CeBIT, in Sydney - just take a look at Future Parc, for example, or at the presentations at the eGovernment Forum - and check out the winners of the inaugural eGovernment awards.

Of course, it is not government's responsibility to drive innovation - it is a shared responsiblity across all sectors of society and the economy. However, government has a unique and fundamental role - to create the preconditions, the soft and hard infrastructure for success, at national and firm levels.

This blog will serve as a vehicle to illustrate what Australia is doing and is capable of doing in the realm of eGovernment, marrying people and technology to produce both innovation and innovative solutions, to old and new problems.

During the next few weeks, others will join me here, producing a growing range of diverse and sometimes challenging views on the problems and opportunities of eGovernment. Make sure you put us on your RSS list, by using the URL given here.