Digital Economy Future Directions blog: What is this about?

To start 2009 off, I would like to draw your attention to an interesting blog being run by the Australian Federal Government.

The first one, Digital Economy Future Directions blog: What is this about? is being facilitated by Minister Senator Stephen Conroy through the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy 

The purpose of the blog - to assist the Australian Government develop a Future directions paper for the digital economy—a roadmap for Australian businesses, households and government to maximise participation in the digital economy.

Themes being covered

• What does the digital economy encompass?
• How do we maintain the same 'civil society' we enjoy offline in an online world? (this is the post that touches on the issue of filtering and we welcome your feedback about the issue in response to this post)
• Is there a benefit for the digital economy from open access to public sector information?
• Does Australia's regulatory framework need tweaking to enable a vibrant digital economy in Australia?
• How can the digital economy respond to environmental concerns?
• What should Australia do to ensure that our businesses and citizens have the necessary skills to participate fully in the digital economy?
• How can we measure the success of Australia's digital economy?

This area is vital to Australia's development and is being held back by a monopoly player, Telstra and its highly political management. I would strongly encourage you use this opportunity to vocie your opinion and attempt to bring Australia into the 21st Century rapidly. We have highly highly creative people in Australia that have been held back through inertia and inaction. We now have a good opportunity to break that intransigence and so I would encourage you to contribute strongly to this blog.