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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-10-18 Daily Xml
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Global Gig City Network

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (15:23): My question is to the Minister for Science and Information Economy. Can the minister inform the chamber about Adelaide becoming part of the US Ignite gigabit network?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (15:23): I thank the honourable member for her question to do with science and the information economy, something the honourable member was recognised for in her stewardship of these portfolio areas. Many of the programs that the government embarks upon had their genesis in many of the ideas put forward by the honourable member.

As honourable members know, the last state budget delivered the largest investment in innovation we have ever seen in this state. The government committed almost $80 million to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in the South Australian economy. That included an investment of almost $5 million to connect our innovation precincts to the existing SABRENet ultra high-speed broadband network to allow innovators to take advantage of Adelaide becoming the first Gig City in the southern hemisphere; that is, precincts that are connected to at least symmetrical gigabits internet speeds.

Two weeks ago, Adelaide joined the US Ignite Gig City Network, a network of cities with superfast internet connections that are embracing innovation. Adelaide is the first international city to join this community. US Ignite is a non-profit group that is committed to the development of the next generation's applications that provide strong public benefit. Their focus is in helping cities to develop the infrastructure needed to allow the great ideas in their communities to be developed.

Cities such as Austin, Texas, Adelaide's sister city, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, have invested significant resources in transforming their cities and, in doing so, have attracted advanced technology companies, created jobs and driven the development of innovations that have improved lives. Our investment in Gig City will make Adelaide one of the most connected cities in the world. Along with other packages to modernise the economy and the state budget, South Australia will become a first-choice destination for innovative start-ups and businesses.

By signing up to the Gig City network, Adelaide has the opportunity to lead the way in innovative developments that improve the quality of life and that provide economic opportunities in this state. We have the benefit of being able to capitalise on the infrastructure that already exists as a result of the collaboration between the South Australian government and our three universities; that is, the SABRENet network. We are the only city in Australia that has a government involvement in its university research fibre backbone.

The investment by the state government announced in the budget will allow innovation precincts throughout Adelaide to be connected to the network—precincts such as Tonsley, St Pauls, and the Stretton Centre, going from south to north. Cities like Chattanooga, Tennessee, have been transformed by high-speed internet connection and are now at the forefront of innovation and technological research. The University of Tennessee in Chattanooga has looked at the research in terms of what their gigabit internet connection has provided, and it is estimated to have provided somewhere near $1 billion in extra economic and social benefits and to have created something like 3,000 new jobs.

In addition, advances in health care with gigabit network connection are being used to transfer very large medical and research data, and that has enabled things like the printing of 3-D organs to allow researchers to examine patients without opening them up. Advances in education, with students at local schools being able to control the very large and expensive microscopes using 4K video technology, brings science into the classroom that was not available before these sorts of connections. A gigabit network also promotes and allows collaboration and innovation in other sectors such as the arts, where musicians can interact in real time with absolutely no delay.

Finally, of great benefit for places like Chattanooga was the way the city has changed and the way it views itself. Chattanooga, Tennessee, for example, has long been a city that has been involved in heavy industry, textiles and the steel industry, but has now grown and transformed on the back of their gigabit network and is attracting people in advanced technologies and the start-up community to Chattanooga. It is a great example of what can be made economically and socially from an investment in optical fibre.

I know Premier Weatherill first visited Chattanooga in 2012 and identified the city as an ideal model on which to base the transformation from a heavy manufacturing to a smart manufacturing economy that we are presently going through in Adelaide. It is from this beginning that our journey to the Adelaide Gig City network originated, and it is an excellent example of the long-term forward thinking that is essential to make this transformation.

Following that trip in 2012, the Premier identified the use of technology such as smart lighting, camera technology and other sensors, that we are now seeing in a smart lighting trial occurring in the CBD in Adelaide. The investment in such infrastructure allows the development and the deployment of these applications, and it is critical to continuing the advance towards the transformation into high-tech areas. Adelaide is taking a lead in investing in the infrastructure to make our city the most connected in Australia. We have become the first Cisco Lighthouse City in the southern hemisphere.

In April, Adelaide will host the 2017 Australian Smart Communities Summit, an event that will bring together national and international leaders at the forefront of smart community technologies. We are developing the innovative infrastructure to allow our smartest minds to develop the ideas that will shape our future economically and socially over the coming decades. The Adelaide Gig City network will provide the infrastructure backbone to support innovation and collaboration between our innovation precincts and our education and research institutions.

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