Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week I launched the Indigenous Leaders Internet Governance and Policy Fellowship at Australia's Internet Governance Community Forum, NetThing. The fellowship encourages First Nations Australians to become involved in internet governance at an exciting time in the world of technology policy. Over the last 12 months, we have seen generative AI enter the mainstream, which has changed the way we learn and work. Although these advancements come with lots of promises, they also compound a range of risks. In the context of First Nations people, the lack of digital inclusion continues to be a significant risk. According to the 2023 Australian Digital Inclusion Index, there is a considerable gap of 7½ points between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Australia. The gap is even more pronounced in remote First Nations communities.

In this context, encouraging multistakeholder governance is seen as an integral part of creating inclusive solutions. Multistakeholder governance just means having a diverse range of voices to inform the development of governance. At its heart, this principle enables anyone who may be impacted by a structure to inform it and shape it. This is also the principle which underlies the referendum on a Voice to Parliament on 14 October. The referendum on the Voice is the culmination of a longstanding invitation directly from First Nations leaders across the country and not politicians. A successful referendum will lead to better policies and improve the lives of First Nations people. In the world of technology policy, we know that better inputs lead to better outputs. The same is true when it comes to bringing practical change to First Nations communities. So let's make it happen on 14 October.

In wrapping up, I want to say a big 'congratulations' to Susan Beeton, Dr Jenny Fraser and Rory Chapman on being selected as fellows.