Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

The government has said from the very outset that ICT is one of those great enabling technologies for the 21st century. Together with the National Broadband Network, this government's innovation agenda will be the backbone of our new knowledge economy. We are about building the future of manufacturing through innova­tion. Today more than ever, manu­facturers need high-speed broadband to cut their costs, to boost their supply chains and to find new markets at home and abroad. That includes manufacturers clustered in regional areas. Without the NBN many will never know the benefits of a website, let alone the incredible tools that we are seeing emerge from our universities today. Australia has the research strengths to make ICT—