Ben Small (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy, Senator Hume. On the day that Australia's leading tech companies have come together to launch the Tech Council of Australia, can the minister update the Senate on recently published jobs figures in Australia's digital economy sector?

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Small for this timely and important question. Today I was very pleased to welcome the launch of the Tech Council of Australia. This is a new advocacy group promoting the growth of Australia's digital economy and seeking to attract investment to Australia and create jobs across a range of critical Australian industries. The new body is backed by leaders in the Australian tech sector, including Atlassian, AfterPay, Canva and SafetyCulture as well as tech investors such as Blackbird and Square Peg and multinationals such as Microsoft and Google.

Today's launch was accompanied by the release of a study that was commissioned by the Tech Council and undertaken by Accenture that highlights that our tech sector is now the third-biggest industry, by value, in Australia and it's also the seventh-biggest employer in Australia, with 861,000 workers—one in 16 Australians—employed in the industry. The report also finds that the sector generated $167 billion in output in the financial year 2021, and the growth in this sector is only going to accelerate. Since 2005, tech sector jobs have grown by 66 per cent compared to an average jobs growth of 27 per cent across the economy, and the tech sector generated 65,000 jobs during the pandemic alone.

The Morrison government is ambitious for Australia's economic future and is committed to supporting and accelerating this growth. We are a government keen to meet the demands and take advantage of the opportunities presented by the digital economy, and that's why we welcome the collaboration with the tech sector to meet the Tech Council's ambitious goal of one million tech related jobs by 2025.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Small, a supplementary question?

Ben Small (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, how is the Morrison government supporting job creation in the digital economy sector, as just one part of our economic recovery from COVID-19?

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Morrison government is backing the tech sector with $2 billion in support invested in the last two budgets alone, and that includes $1.2 billion in the Digital Economy Strategy, which I launched with the Prime Minister in May of this year. This strategy is economy-wide and it's investing to create jobs and grow technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Importantly, the strategy invests in Australian skills. It invests in empowering Australian small and medium-sized enterprises to grasp the nettle, to upskill their staff, and to digitise their businesses in order to boost productivity and to lower costs. With tax incentives to boost target areas of strength, such as the digital game development incentive, and working in concert with global talent acquisition, we expect Australia to be a premier place to grow and invest in digital technology and to create jobs and opportunities for the future of all Australians.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Small, a final supplementary question?

Ben Small (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, how is this jobs growth reflected more broadly in the Australian economy?

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Getting Australians into jobs is clearly a consistent focus of the Morrison government and it has been especially so in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, the unemployment rate fell to 4.9 per cent and that was down from 5.1 per cent in May. This was the eighth consecutive fall in the unemployment rate and its lowest rate in more than a decade. We on this side of the chamber know that it is an extremely challenging time at present with so many people across the country in lockdown, including in my home state of Victoria. Thousands of Australians are relying on digital technology to keep working, keep learning and keep connected to the people they love. Alongside the economic support delivered by the Morrison government, technology has made it possible for Australians to manage and maintain their lives and livelihoods during the pandemic. When we get to the other side, the Morrison government's $1.2 billion investment in our digital future will keep our economy strong and create the jobs for the future. (Time expired)