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Australia Launches Major IT initiatives
In a bid to put Australia on track as a major leader in information technology, Prime Minister John Howard unveiled a $2.9 billion five-year plan to bolster research and development.
At the center of the new innovation package, dubbed Backing Australia's Ability, is an infusion of millions of dollars into the nation's cooperative research centers (CRC), far outpacing the research industry's exceptions.
Under the plan, $129.5 million would be earmarked to support the information and communication technology-focused Center of Excellence. Nearly $736 million in funding for Australia's research council would double by 2005, with the hope of supporting internationally competitive research. Additionally, the country's research infrastructure receives a $583 million boost.
"This has exceeded all expectations and is a great vindication of the CRC program," CRC Association Chairman Tony Staley said in a statement.
Other key areas of the new plan include:
- Encouraging private-sector investment in research and development by increasing the R&D tax concession to 175 percent for additional labor-related research and development;
- Establishing increased access to world-leading research and through the Innovation Access Program with $100 million in funding over five years;
- Investing $78.7 million over five years in a pre-seed funds for proposals from universities and public-sector research agencies;
- Boosting funding of major universities by providing $151 million over five years to bolster the number of IT and math and science graduates while providing $995 million over five years to boost worker retraining.
Tax and education incentives feature prominently in the innovation plan. Industry Minister Sen. Nick Minchin announced a new tax rebate for small companies that invest in R&D, noting that the rebate would help nearly 1,300 small companies gain millions in R&D-related tax losses. Education Minister David Kemp said more than half of the new funds in the government plan was allocated to the education sector.
In other Australian news, the New South Wales Labor Council has begun an "online rights for online workers" campaign, the Australian Broadcasting Company reported this week. Michael Costa, the council's secretary, said state and federal governments need to introduce legislation to prohibit employers from secretly snooping on workers' e-mails.
"What we are concerned about is currently under Australian law, it's illegal to tape telephone conversations, it's illegal to videotape people in the workplace, but it appears that there is a loophole [that] allows employers to monitor e-mail conversations."
Canada Focuses On Free Trade, IT Sector for Economic Growth
Legislative priorities for Canada in the coming year will center on building a competitive global economy, and the country's leader say that will require key investments in worker training and high-tech infrastructure.
In the annual Speech from the Throne (similar to the U.S. president's State of the Union address), Prime Minister Jean Chretien said increased foreign trade and investment will open the gates to building Canada's high-tech sector. Consequently, liberal government officials signaled their desire to play a leading role in the upcoming negotiations for the Free Trade Area of the Americas, which Chretien will host in Quebec in April.
The speech outlined the Liberal government's legislative agenda for the first session of the 37th Canadian parliament legislative year. Key initiatives include:
- Doubling funding for research and development by 2010;
- Creating Registered Individual Learning Accounts to aid Canadians in financing retraining efforts and life long learning;
- Continuing support of programs like the Community Access Program and SchoolNet to bridge the "digital divide" and promote continued online access;
- Supporting further efforts to connect and promote the development of high-speed Internet networks through the continued efforts of the National Broadband Task Force;
- And reintroducing changes to immigration legislation to streamline and improve the immigration system, as well as easing the entry of skilled foreign workers.
Internet cafe owners in the Chinese province of Chingquing may have to start monitoring more than drink orders. Xinhua News agency reported Monday that law enforcement officials will begin mandating that cafe owners install filtering software on their computers to block "online trash" — a moved aimed at cracking down on anti-government sentiments and increasing Net security.
Officials also contend that the new rule is part of a large campaign to stop computer and Web hackers and the proliferation of pornography and Internet gambling. Xinhua noted that half the 1,700 Internet cafes in the region had installed a software application called "Internet Bar Security Management System."
Hong Kong Poised to be E-commerce Hub
With significant tax relief, Hong Kong is poised to become a major hub of e-commerce, experts said Monday. Yvonne Law, deputy tax managing partner of Touche Tohmatsu, told the South China Morning Post that "new measures could help put [Hong Kong] on the map as a high-technology hub." Increasing tax deductions for staff training and investment in research and development as well as for capital investment will aid significantly in the formation of e-businesses, she said.
Carrie Yau Tsang Ka-lai, secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting, echoed the need to attract new high-tech enterprises during a speech at the World Economic forum in Davos, Switzerland. "I firmly believe our future development is closely tied to leveraging the information age," she said. "The major new areas of economic growth will be in the telecommunications, IT and multimedia sectors."
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Hong Kong officials also are considering the reintroduction of a 1970 law banning gambling in an effort to reduce the proliferation of online gambling.
Stop The Hate
The Internet is becoming a major artery for the proliferation of hate speech, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson said Monday. During a speech to the U.N. conference on intolerance, Robinson urged attendees to look at ways of reducing the amount of hate speech posted on the Web. The intolerance forum is a follow-up to the Holocaust conference in Stockholm a year ago ins remembrance of 6 million Jews killed by German Nazis during World War II.
EU To Host Major Conference on IT Sector
The European Union announced this week that the information society sector of the European Commission will hold a day-long conference in March to address the changes rendered by digital technologies and their effect on the new economy.
"The e-Economy in Europe: Its Potential Impact on EU Enterprises and Policies" will involve nearly 200 policy officials, commission staff, industry members, entrepreneurs, consumer advocates and academics who will address the implications of changing technologies. The first series of workshops will analyze the impact of digital technologies on different industry and service sectors, with a focus on new structures and business models. A second series of workshops will ponder the implications for policymaking, focusing on the internal market.
AeA Closes Japanese Office
Funding problems and policy shifts in trade negotiations are being blamed for the closing of AeA's, Japanese operations at the end of last year, Nikkei News reported this week. AeA (formerly the American Electronic Association), which consists of 141 high-tech companies, attributed the closing to the shift in solving trade disputes from bilateral negotiations to multilateral ones supervised by the World Trade Organization, as well as the increased burden of maintaining the office. After the Commerce Department cut subsidies in 1994, AeA attempted to keep the Japan office afloat with membership fees alone.
- by Maureen Sirhal
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