The First Mile

Supported by the SSHRC-funded First Nations Innovation Project

August 17, 2011 - In an Address to the Huawei Digital Inclusion Summit, Australia’s Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Stephen Conro, included a few points describing the government’s Indigenous Communications Program:

We are also moving to ensure our most isolated communities are not left behind through the Indigenous Communications Program.

The government is working in collaboration with state and territory governments to install public internet access facilities and deliver computer training in up to 120 remote Indigenous communities that have limited or no public access internet facilities.

These programs fit within the broader strategy of delivering increased healthcare services to the home, online education, government service delivery and digital engagement in regional Australia.

Our goal is that all Australians will be connected – to each other, to their community, to the nation and to the world.

Read the full text of the Minister’s speech. [ www.minister.dbcde.gov.au ]