And while it has fallen out of favour under the current regieme, local industry leaders continue to call for support through direct purchasing as the best way for the government to support the IT industry.
"Within Australia we would like to see large purchases of IT products and services, including the Government, support the local industry where it can provide a competitive solution rather than looking for overseas alternatives," said Alan Greig, chief executive officer of Prophecy International. "This has positive ramifications for the nation, not just the IT sector."
Brenton Alcorn, marketing director of Logica in Australia, believes the Government has missed the boat for industry development. "Active Government sponsorship of Indian based IT companies into this country will export jobs; not create them," he said.
In an exclusive comment to ZDNet Australia , the Federal Minister for IT and Communications, Senator Richard Alston, signalled the government's intention to increase collaboration with the local IT industry - however, he stopped short of tackling the issue of whether government should actively favour local suppliers over their international counterparts when making procurement decisions.
"The Federal Government is working to better educate business and Government on the effective purchase and use of ICTs, facilitating greater collaboration and information sharing through the work of NOIE, the new e-Government strategy ‘Better Services, Better Government,’ the ICT SME Facilitation Package and the Information Management Strategy Committee," he said.
Alston pointed to a number of Government initiatives which support new IT ventures, including AU$129 million pledged over five years to the ICT Centre of Excellence and $76 million allocated to the Building on IT Strengths (BITS) incubator program.
Alston also claimed that many of the Government's economic reform programs are fundamental to improving conditions for the Australian IT industry. "The recently passed Venture Capital Limited Partnerships (VCLP) legislation is one demonstration of the commitment to appropriate economic reform," he said. "Australia now has a ‘world’s best practice’ environment for venture capital investment, which should reap significant rewards in 2003."
Such measures are welcomed by industry pundits such as Paul Magee, managing director of VeCommerce, who is among a number of local industry representatives calling for; "more government involvement and initiatives in the development of breakthrough technologies."
And if Alston's New Year's resolutions are anything to go on, 2003 will be a good year for Australian IT research and development.
"In 2003, the Government will continue to deliver on its commitment to foster the growth of innovation and improved services and technology in the ICT sector, thereby benefiting the economy as a whole," said Alston.
Read the full transcript of Alston's proposals for the ICT sector in Alston's ICT initiatives for 2003, and find out what industry leaders believe will be coming up in 2003, our New Year's Eve special feature What's in store for 2003.
Quelle: ZDNet Australia
