The Australian Smart Communities Association (ASCA) has released its 2022 Federal Election Platform, aiming to elevate the discussion of smart communities to a national level and outline how technology, data, and innovation can build better outcomes for Australia. 

The Platform was developed in partnership between the ASCA Board, members and key stakeholders to propose a three-year, Federal Government-led package to accelerate the adoption of innovative technology and data. 

The ASCA said that Australia continues to advance the development of the smart community space, with over 100 local governments having established smart community frameworks, and approximately one in five others in the process of delivering a dedicated smart program. 

However, the ASCA said that, due to the limited funding and lack of strategic direction at a national level, smart community developments continue to sit at a local level.

ASCA President, Laura Baker, said, “Smart communities are more important than ever, and we need to elevate the discussion to a national level. Globally, we see leading cities and countries reaping the benefits of digital technology and innovation.

“ASCA continues to advocate for all levels of Government to coordinate and focus on advancement of community led technology and innovative solutions. This requires a coordinated approach from the Federal Government to see the wide scale benefits across the country.”

Ms Baker also said that the ASCA wishes to thank the members who were involved in the shaping and development of the election platform; which showcases the collective voice and importance of investing in the smart community agenda across Australia.

The platform outlines how technology, data, and innovation can build better outcomes for Australia, and with the recent release of the Federal Budget, ASCA welcomes the outlined digital and technology funding allocations. 

ASCA: more funding needed 

Despite funding allocations to the sector announced in the 2022-23 Federal Budget, ASCA said that more funding is needed in critical areas to advance the digital economy and support the adoption of smart technology in Australia. In particular, the areas of renewable energy, climate innovation funding, digital inclusion, and smart infrastructure require more investment to unlock social, economic, and environmental outcomes.

Four areas to accelerate Australia’s smart communities 

There are four strategic areas that ASCA proposes to the Federal Government to accelerate Australia’s smart community agenda:

  1. Develop roadmap and funding for scalable smart infrastructure 

Developing a roadmap with associated funding to fast-track digital technology, innovation, and transformation at a national level. The key recommendation is to fund Rounds 3 and 4 of the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program with a commitment of $75 million per year for three years, to enable local governments to deploy scalable smart infrastructure. There will be a focus on partnerships, community resilience, and enabling more regional participation in the fund.

  1. Improve delivery of digital skills and STEM 

The ASCA explains that socially focused policies are equally as important as physical infrastructure, recommending the development of a National Digital Inclusion Roadmap to support the reporting and adoption of activities to reduce the digital divide. Supporting this is a recommended skills package to build digital economy-ready communities with a focus on attracting and retaining future-ready skills to local government.

  1. Increase funding for climate innovation and partnerships 

To develop solutions that effectively address climate change, ASCA recommends the establishment of the Smart and Clean Innovation Fund to enable researchers, businesses, start-ups and local government bodies to test and scale up innovative technologies in the domains of smart renewable energy transition, carbon capture, electric vehicle adoption, and climate disaster management. 

  1. Scale connectivity and innovation across regions 

Achieving scalability of 5G connectivity and innovative solutions, ASCA recommends developing a network of Living Lab hubs across Australia, which would be responsible for using public spaces to test and trial global and local start-up technologies in partnership with community and businesses.

By harnessing Australia’s dynamic and diverse regions at a national level, the ASCA believes that communities around Australia will see increased collaboration and smart solutions emerge, increasing economic development, sustainability, digital capacity, and community confidence, as well as establishing Australia as a global leader in the smart community movement. 

Read the full Election Platform here.

Follow Council’s coverage of the Federal Election here. 

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