Minister raises the bar for digital penetration

3 June 2005

Senator the Hon Helen Coonan, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, today announced plans to boost Australia’s digital penetration figures.

“This updated policy will address poor levels of digital penetration currently experienced in Australia,” the Minister explained in a speech to the Royal Electronics and Custom-Technology Society (REC-TMS). “Digital penetration has thus far been behind the anticipated position, and disappointingly slow.”

The Minister has in the past expressed her vision of an “holistic digital environment characterised by vigorous movement toward full capacity.”

The Minister expects that Australians will be experiencing full capacity in digital penetration by 2010. When asked whether such a timeline was overly optimistic, the Minister replied: “The Government is proud to push digital penetration. We believe it is the right of every Australian and we will do whatever it takes to provide digital access to even the remotest spots.”

Shadow Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Stephen Conroy, has expressed his opposition to what he termed “a flaccid response to a burning question.” In order to rectify inadequate digital penetration, Senator Conroy has called for the introduction of a harsh penal code.

(A press release you probably won’t see from Senator Helen Coonan, penned by Charlotte Ahearne)