Press Conference - Darwin, Northern Territory

MICHELLE ROWLAND, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: Good morning. I firstly acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land and pay my respects to elders past and present, and extend that respect in particular to all First Nations people who may be here today.

Today is a really exciting day. When I came to this position as Minister for Communications 12 months ago, I was made aware of a target in my portfolio - Closing the Gap, Target 17.

That target is that by 2026, we will have equal levels of digital inclusion for all Australians. As Minister, I looked for the strategy that was in place to deliver that, and the underlying data to be able to measure that. What I found was that we had neither.

However, today I'm very pleased to say that, thanks to the good work by my colleagues at this NIAA and also with excellent input from my own First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group - of whom I have members of that panel and that advisory body here today -we are now in a position to release the First Nations Digital Inclusion Plan.

This strategy focuses on three key areas; access, affordability and ability, and it sets out a framework for achieving targets within that.

As my colleague, Lyndon, from the Advisory Group will speak to, we actually had in the last few days the release of the Digital Inclusion Index, and what that has found is that the gap between those who are digitally included and those who are excluded continues to be more pronounced for First Nations communities, and that is exacerbated by remoteness.

The gap overall is 7.5. We need to close that gap. The way we are going to do that is by having a strategy like this that has measurable plans, and it is capable of being achieved with cooperation from the Federal Government, from State and Territory governments, from stakeholders, and from industry itself. That is what is going to close the gap. That is what the Albanese Government is committed to doing. I'm very pleased that today we are able to launch this very important plan that provides a baseline and strategies for achieving digital inclusivity for First Nations Australians.

I know how important this is, not only for those First Nations people living in the Territory, but in particular for the more than 1,000 remote First Nations communities. This needs to be a whole‑of‑Australia effort, and it certainly is one that transcends the Communications portfolio. But it's only by working together, by having a solid plan that's capable of measurement, that we are actually going to close the gap. And we are going to experience that transformational power of ICT for First Nations Australians that will make immeasurable difference in not only their quality of life, but the quality of the Australian economy overall.

Lyndon, I'll pass over to you to say a few words, and very much appreciate your involvement in the plan, and also, your ongoing involvement with the Digital Inclusion Advisory Group that I established.

LYNDON ORMOND-PARKER, DEPUTY CHAIR OF THE FIRST NATIONS DIGITAL INCLUSION ADVISORY GROUP: Thank you, Minister Rowland, and thank you for establishing the Advisory Group and the Expert Panel. We hope to provide a report to you soon, and so I'd also like to just talk about the Internet and access to the internet. Over the years it was something that was a luxury for most people, and now it's become an essential service. And what we've found through the Australian Digital Inclusion Index is that the gap is widening between regional, remote and very remote communities, not only First Nations communities, but right across the board. And so part of the First Nations Digital Inclusion Plan is, we're going to try and address some of these issues and provide advice to the Minister on how we can close that gap and the digital divide.

Internet access is an essential service for most Australians, and it's an essential service as services go online for health, education and other economic development issues. We also see that digital inclusion's important for economic development in Regional Road Australia, and as First Nations people, we would like to see that digital divide close. Thank you.

ROWLAND: Thank you. Lauren is part of our Expert Panel, and she comes from Telstra. She has a very keen perspective on the ways in which industry, government and other stakeholders can cooperate as part of this strategy. Thanks, Lauren.

LAUREN GANLEY, MEMBER OF THE EXPERT PANEL: Thank you Minister. Yes, so as the Minister said, I'm on the Expert Panel, and we support the Advisory Group, the Minister's Advisory Group. Telstra is absolutely committed to Closing the Gap, Target 17. We actually fund the Digital Inclusion research, and more recently the Mapping the Gap research which focuses on Remote Australia. Telstra does want to collaborate across industry with Government to close this gap by 2026, and we look forward to doing more great work through the Expert Panel supporting the Advisory Group. Thank you.

ROWLAND: Naomi, thank you for hosting us today, and it will be instructive to hear how the Indigenous Business Network can benefit from closing this gap as well and the difference it can make to Indigenous entrepreneurs and more broadly as well.

NAOMI MORAN, NORTHERN TERRITORY INDIGENOUS BUSINESS NETWORK: Thank you, Minister, and thank you to the Advisory Group. The Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network is absolutely thrilled about this announcement today. The investment is so important, because it means we can turn some reality around infrastructure requirements for unlocking the Aboriginal estate into reality for our people and our business members. As the peak body for Aboriginal business, we know that access is really important, and infrastructure in our remote communities isn't just roads: it's high speed networks, it's accessibility to ongoing stable infrastructure that will keep everybody online, and it will help us to create innovative new economies online, particularly in tourism, arts, culture and digital tech.

We see Industry 4.0 as the real opportunity to take our people out of poverty in a single generation. We're really, really grateful to the Commonwealth and to the First Nations Advisory Group for driving this forward, and we look forward to partnering to see this come to fruition.

JOURNALIST: Can I ask you, what are some of the challenges that businesses face at the moment that you're looking to overcome?

MORAN: Initially, in our very remote regions, some of the challenges our people face are simple access to reliable internet. To be able to have digital shopfronts and online things like Shopify or Access, you have to be able to have access to the Internet that is reliable. More broadly to that, you have to be able to have the infrastructure in your community to make sure that happens, and you have to be able to have access to computers, to new tech, to people to train and develop. The more that you have that capability, the more you can also implement systems. It's not just in IT businesses, it's in construction, it's across fashion, it's across all industry, because if you can't access the ability to implement tech and systems, including manufacturing, you can't grow your business into the future. It will keep us in the dark ages. We need to be able to come out into modern economies to be able to grow. So I think that's probably some of the challenge.

JOURNALIST: So, this sort of gives a chance for maybe some remote businesses to be able to expand their customer base?

MORAN: Absolutely. It can expand the customer base, but also enable new start-ups for young people. Aboriginal people per capita are the highest users of social media in the world. We know how to do that, and we know how to network. We need the reliability to be able to take that into commercial environments.

ROWLAND: Happy to take questions on this first, and then any of the topics.

JOURNALIST: Minister, this will be a whole educational process that's going to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities not only based in the Northern Territory but right across Australia. So, what will be the infrastructure from NIAA and other government departments so that they can implement training processes and programs in Aboriginal community in all the areas that really count?

ROWLAND: It's a great question. It certainly goes to the issue that this is cross‑portfolio. I think to answer that in two parts. Firstly, this Plan sets out as a first priority the issue of accessibility, and I commend Minister Ah Kit here in the Northern Territory with whom I have had very constructive engagement about how we in the comms portfolio design our programs that are about co‑investment in access. To give you a concrete example, we have over $30 million that's set aside for First Nations and remote areas for infrastructure development. So that's in terms of mobile black spots, but also any other bespoke models that the private sector would seek to co‑invest in with the Federal Government.

What we have through a process of consultation is set aside funding that’s it's specifically for First Nations communities, and also design those so that as the Department assesses those applications, we look to some of those drivers around how this is going to promote First Nations digital inclusion. I think the first part of the answer there is, it's actually driving how ministers and departments make decisions that go directly to improving accessibility.

The second part is, of course, how this interacts with other digitally enabled portfolios. One great example there is Government Services. It is harder and harder to interact with government if you are not connected, and we know about how important this is and how vital this is for non‑Indigenous Australians, even living in metropolitan areas, so you can imagine how much that is exacerbated if you live in a remote area without that access.

It is causing Ministers and Departments to think about how this can all be connected. This is one of the key focus areas of the Plan. It is how we can coordinate across stakeholders and across industry. I would encourage you to have a look at the Plan. It has –at its appendix – a really concise summary of the various projects that are going on at a Commonwealth and State level, also outside of the communications portfolio.

The key issue here is how we bring these together and focus them on those three pillars: access, affordability and ability. Again, I thank the industry, including Telstra, who have been involved in so many initiatives I've seen as I've gone to Port Augusta and Palm Island, for example, as I've gone into these remote communities and listened to people. It comes down to a lack of a plan, and not for want of accessibility. We have First Nations people who, as Naomi said, are enthusiastic about social media, they are prolific users of it, and sometimes for reasons that you wouldn't expect. It's about keeping their stories alive and keeping their culture alive, and having that connection outside of community that's so important as well.

I think it's not only causing Ministers and Departments to think about how they structure their own decision making, but how they interact with others. This will be, in conclusion, an ongoing process. This really is about how we evolve government decision making through listening to First Nations people, and also having a database where we can measure how we are getting those improvements and closing that 7.5 gap.

JOURNALIST: Can you describe what the gap looks like here in the Northern Territory at the moment, and also what the target is in terms of how many communities there will be projects?

ROWLAND: I'll throw to Lyndon for some of that as well, as he's been involved in the Digital Inclusion Index. But the gap is 7.5, which means that on a points basis we have nearly a 10 point gap between Indigenous and non‑Indigenous, and that actually gets worse as you get more remote.

To give you a practical example, there are some remote communities where we're not only talking about access to the internet or access to telephony, it's access to radio, it's access to television services, it's access to public Wi‑Fi, even in some cases access to pay phones. It's across the whole gamut of communications.

But another really important aspect that the Advisory Group has been looking at is First Nations Australians as content creators as well; how they can have their voices, their faces and their stories being told.

Now, the key, it all comes back to these three pillars. The key here is firstly to ensure there is that connectivity. Minister Ah Kit, I even met with her again in-person yesterday, and she has stressed to me the importance of getting that infrastructure in place because it's from there that you have the affordability and accessibility being able to grow. That doesn't mean these things can't be done in parallel, of course they can, because we have so many initiatives going on at the moment. But it does also cause, just as another practical example, a government business enterprise like NBN Co to think about where it can place its public Wi‑Fi and what are some of the best solutions for these remote areas.

Lyndon, I might throw to you to answer part of that question about what that gap looks like, because we know that is exacerbated as you get more remote, but we're very mindful that not every First Nations Australian lives in remote areas, but that is where the big gaps are, because it's certainly not a one size fits all, is it, Lyndon?

ORMOND-PARKER: Yeah. So, this week we launched the Australian Digital Inclusion Index, and we can see from the index that regional and remote communities are the most disadvantaged and have the largest gap in being able to access the internet and other services.

We also see gaps in age groups, so older Australians are also digitally excluded, as well as people from low socio‑economic backgrounds. So if you look at the Australian Digital Inclusion Index, we now have for the first time a First Nations dashboard, and you can go into the dashboard and really drill down into the local areas that are really digitally excluded, and it's the first time that we've actually had this data to look at, and we hope to collect more data over the next two to three years to see how we are tracking against closing that digital gap for First Nations Australians, but not only First Nations but for all Australians.

One of the key things as you go more remotely is access to infrastructure, and we are now working with the Commonwealth and advising the Minister on mapping the infrastructure right across the country, and where those gaps are. This is so that we can work with industry to really target their efforts into making local regional digital inclusion plans, and ensuring that industry are working together to solve solutions and provide solutions for individual communities, not only First Nations, but right across the country. I think by targeting local communities, we can certainly help to improve that digital inclusiveness, and we also have new technologies coming on board with low orbit satellites, which Telstra, Vocus and NBN are looking at to help provide solutions to closing that digital gap, and the digital divide.

JOURNALIST: How does the Territory compare to the rest of Australia?

ORMOND-PARKER: The Territory compared to the rest of Australia is very similar to other remote and regional areas, but the gap is still quite wide in the Northern Territory outside of the major ‑ two major cities.

JOURNALIST: Minister, can I ask you, so by 2026, will Australians in remote areas have the same reliable Internet access as someone in Sydney?

ROWLAND: It will be a challenge to meet this target, but we are up for that challenge. It's one of the reasons why we have been so forceful as a Government of prosecuting, putting in place plans, strategies and consultation with First Nations communities. By also having a data‑set, we'll be able to measure how that gap is closing. We'll also be able to better target direct Commonwealth funding efforts, but also help to guide industry on how to get the best solutions.

So, make no mistake, this will be a challenge. But we were elected, the Albanese Government, on a platform of making things better for Australians, a better future for all. We know that there are some entrenched problems here that will take some time to solve. But one thing we can do is, by having this Plan, by having this strategy and by bringing together stakeholders to work in a collaborative way, we know we can make things better.

JOURNALIST: Can I just get you to provide just a really clear example for someone in a remote community about how this framework is actually going to close the gap for them?

ROWLAND: Certainly. What I can do is give two examples on two of those three pillars. The first in terms of accessibility. We've got some areas which have very low or limited connectivity at the moment, and they actually need infrastructure as a basis. So, what we are doing through our Regional Connectivity Program, and also our Mobile Black Spots Program, is providing Commonwealth co‑investment to the carriers for whom there may not be a strong business case to go into these remote communities. By supplementing that cost, we are able to enable those carriers to make a decision to undertake that investment and put in infrastructure.

Some of that infrastructure might be mobile communications, it might be Wi‑Fi, or it might be some bespoke kind of communications including maybe a transmission link that goes from a major centre to a more remote centre. They're some of the direct funding examples that can be provided there.

The second is -again utilising NBN Co as an example - NBN Co as part of its network roll‑out also undertakes works in public Wi‑Fi, and they have identified many sites throughout the Territory and other remote parts of Australia where public Wi‑Fi is really what is needed to be able to provide internet access. It might not be feasible at all, or there might be topographical limitations for building mobile towers. But by having public Wi‑Fi in place and by consulting communities on what they need, they can find a suitable location, they can install that infrastructure, and the public can utilise that free public Wi‑Fi within a defined radius.

In effect, these are practical examples of ways in which zero or very limited infrastructure previously can be enhanced, not only by Federal Government funding, but also decisions by carriers and by infrastructure providers such as NBN Co.

JOURNALIST: Will that all be in place by 2026?

ROWLAND: Some of this is already happening now and in fact, we have the application open, and there's only a short time period left for the carriers to be able to submit their applications under the RCP and the Mobile Black Spots Program. Depending on the amount of time to have those approvals and constructions, some of that can take about 12 months. In other cases it can be a shorter or longer time period, depending on factors such as who owns the particular land on which it's being constructed. But I think what this Plan will do will be to highlight those areas in which they may be able to make connections with State initiatives that are going on at the moment, but also understanding the Government's priorities, as we have made clear in the statement of expectations to them, about connecting all Australians.

All this is going on right now. The question, when we get to 2026, is to look at where we were and whether this gap has been narrowed. This is a Government that will be judged on its delivery. But I am confident that with the support of stakeholders right across the sector, from the Commonwealth Government and state and territory governments, we can make a measurable difference in closing that gap by 2026.

JOURNALIST: Do you know how much this is going to cost yet, given all those projects might not all be mapped out yet? Do you have a rough idea?

ROWLAND: A lot of these projects have already been mapped out, and some of the examples that I gave in terms of Commonwealth funding. We have stakeholders, including industry, who already calculate this as part of their business as usual, and part of their network roll‑out and maintenance. But also, I think it does give impetus to the industry to concentrate also on that affordability and that ability sectors as well.

We know that people are doing it tough, including in relation to being able to afford utility bills, and telco is an essential service now; people rely on their mobiles, they rely on Wi‑Fi. I think by having that clear direction by government about our expectations and seeking that cooperation from the industry, we can advance, not only the accessibility component, but those other two as well, so that we not only have the infrastructure in place, we have people who are able to utilise it and can afford it as well.

JOURNALIST: We'll learn the latest inflation figures this week. How important are those numbers?

ROWLAND: We know that people are doing it tough Of course this Government is seeking to provide whatever assistance that we can that doesn't unnecessarily add to inflation. We went to the election with clear policies for cheaper childcare, cheaper medicines, for fee‑free TAFE, but the Prime Minister has been very clear in his instructions to all his Ministers, and that is to look at ways in which we can assist Australians with their cost‑of‑living pressures.

To give you two examples within the Communications portfolio. Very recently I announced that in response, again, to consultation and listening to First Nations people on the ground, there is an issue around the financial hardship provisions that regulate the way in which communications providers deal with their customers. I made a decision that I would introduce direct regulation in this area, where previously it had been a co‑regulatory model.

I was not satisfied that we have situations where people, including First Nations Australians, continue to be sold plans that they can't afford or don't meet their needs, and puts them in a spiral of debt. By utilising the powers that I have, I know that this is responding to a genuine need that's out there around financial hardship.

And secondly, we went to the election with a policy to provide up to 30,000 families around Australia, who don't have Internet access at home, with an NBN connection. We have finished the initial phase of that now and have been signing people up to that, but this is broadband accessibility for a year [for Australians without internet at home].

We're getting to the stage now where we have NBN Co being able to take referrals from Members of Parliament, we've got State Departments, education departments who are assisting with identifying those families who may be in need. Again this is a genuine cost‑of‑living, and an essential service that we know people rely on. For whatever reason that they don't have it, affordability may be one of them, or people are faced with particular challenges. There are some relationships and some families where life is complex. But we are seeking to assist these families doing what we can, including providing free broadband access for a year.

But make no mistake, people are doing it tough. There is also serious cost‑of‑living pressures with interest rates, but we are doing everything we can as a government to ease those cost‑of‑living pressures without unnecessarily adding to inflation.

JOURNALIST: Do you think the government's doing enough to take that pressure off the RBA?

ROWLAND: We will continue as a Government to be focused on making life better for Australians. We know that we have a number of external factors that are making things hard, and of course the Reserve Bank operates as an independent entity. But as a Government, the policy decisions that we are making and that we have set out in our last two Budgets clearly demonstrate that we understand those pressures that are coming on every day Australians. We want to do everything we can to ease those cost‑of‑living pressures without unnecessarily adding to inflation.