[LINK] Govt unveils First Nations Digital Inclusion Plan

[Stephen Loosley]

(Looks to me that Telstra are royally screwing First Nations folk?)


Govt unveils First Nations Digital Inclusion Plan

But will it be enough to close the gap?

By Casey Tonkin on Jul 25 2023 
https://ia.acs.org.au/content/ia/article/2023/govt-unveils-first-nations-digital-inclusion-plan.html

(A lack of mobile coverage can be a barrier for young people to get out 
on Country. Image: Shutterstock)


After two years of consultation, the government released its First 
Nations Digital Inclusion Plan on Sunday with the optimistic goal of 
reaching its Closing the Gap target of equal levels of digital inclusion 
for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by 2026.

The plan comprises a framework centered on access, affordability, and 
digital – the same areas measured by the Australian Digital Inclusion 
Index – alongside a list of existing and planned actions from state and 
federal governments, business, and the non-profit sector. It also has a 
broad set of ‘priorities for further work’.

Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, said it was important 
for all Australians to be able to access and use digital technologies.

“In a world where the technology landscape is rapidly changing to 
provide greater opportunities to connect with each other, the economy 
and so much more, I’m so pleased that this Government is committed to 
ensure our First Nations people aren’t left behind,” she said.

“Strengthening digital inclusion for First Nations people, especially if 
they live in regional or remote Australia, provides significant 
opportunities for increased connections to community, country and 
cultural identity.”

According to the latest Digital Inclusion Index, First Nations people 
continue to face high levels of digital exclusion – especially in remote 
communities where there is a serious gap between Aboriginal people and 
the rest of the population.

As the plan points out, access to digital technologies “is fundamental 
to the economic, social, and environmental wellbeing of First Nations 
people”.

While a move toward online service delivery – especially in health and 
education – has created a greater opportunity for communities separated 
by space, the lower levels of digital access can make it even harder to 
use services, thus exacerbating disadvantage.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said connectivity was 
particularly important for people in communities “where the tyranny of 
distance has the greatest impact”, adding that her government wanted to 
“ensure that no one is left behind”.

What’s the plan?

The National Indigenous Australians Agency identified that future 
actions need to involve partnerships with First Nations people and 
communities, they have to be ‘place-based’ and localised to tailor the 
needs of specific communities, they need to be fit for purpose, and they 
should involve co-ordination between the Commonwealth, states and 
territories, non-government organisations, and business.

Most of the 167 existing initiatives mentioned in the plan are 
generalised for the broader Australian population, and there are only 21 
planned, or ‘pipeline’, activities which shows the need for a more 
cohesive and direct approach to improving First Nations digital inclusion.

The government’s current communications centrepiece is its Better 
Connectivity Plan, under which sits the Regional Connectivity Program.

That program has already funded two rounds of grants worth more than 
$250 million.

Only around 10 per cent of that money has gone to projects that directly 
mention improving telecommunications infrastructure for Aboriginal or 
Indigenous communities, but the government has said the program’s 
upcoming round will see $25 million dedicated to First Nations communities.

The biggest single beneficiary of the Regional Connectivity Program has 
been Telstra which pulled in over $108 million for mobile base stations 
in regional or remote parts of Australia.

In 2021, Telstra was fined $50 million for its “unconscionable” sales 
conduct after representatives sold expensive mobile plans to people who 
couldn’t afford them and racked up debts as high as $19,000.

Aboriginal people in remote parts of Australia tend to be mobile-only 
internet users and are more likely to use pre-paid plans out of economic 
prudence, the First Nations Digital Inclusion Plan mentions.

But pre-paid plans tend to be more expensive per gigabyte and mobile 
service generally doesn’t offer the uncapped data use you will find with 
home broadband.

Barrier to Country

A recent Queensland University of Technology research program outlined 
the difficulties, and importance, of online connectivity on Mornington 
Island where 80 per cent of the community is Aboriginal.

It noted that a “lack of mobile coverage on traditional homelands” was 
seen as “a barrier to engagement in activities on Country”, effectively 
limiting the desire for young people to venture far from town.

Telstra is the only mobile network on the island and its 4G reaches just 
“one-fifth of Mornington Island”, the research paper says although the 
island is slated for a $2.6 million upgrade as part of the Regional 
Connectivity Program.

Increasing the amount of infrastructure is naturally an important step 
in improving digital inclusion, but just the existence of mobile towers 
or satellite receivers isn’t enough.

Despite residents being eligible for NBN’s Sky Muster offering, the 
researchers said they hardly heard of any homes that were joined up to 
the service.

In part this is a result of the lock-in nature of service contracts, but 
also that there was a lack of available technical support.

“When hardware like satellite dishes, modems and routers broke, there 
was often no one available to fix them,” the report found, and it could 
take weeks or months for a technician to arrive.

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