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Welcome to the last issue of DATA for 2005.

From e-research to broadband in the bush, a new, high-tech aquatic centre and awards for innovation, DATA magazine illustrates the breadth and depth of work being done in the field of communications with Government support.

This edition outlines some of the important work being undertaken by the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. One initiative I was pleased to be a part of was the regional briefng series to raise awareness of Government initiatives in broadband (Link to broadband briefing article).

The briefings, held across the country, were all well attended and well received. Testament to their success is the growth in broadband take-up thanks to the Government’s Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme (HiBIS). The Government recently committed a further $50 million to HiBIS to ensure we continue to deliver broadband to the bush.

The Secrets of Australian IT Innovation competition 2004 (link to Secrets of IT article) has again been an enormous success with winners in the e-health and e-learning categories securing funding to attend conferences in the United Kingdom to expand their business opportunities.

And, recognising the challenges convergence (link to convergence article) presents for both Governments and regulators, the Government has merged the Australian Broadcasting Authority and the Australian Communications Authority, to form the Australian Communications and Media Authority or ACMA. ACMA commenced on July 1 and is well placed to work across the broadcasting and telecommunications industries to meet future challenges.

These are just some of the success stories in my portfolio.

The very real potential for technology to help us overcome the tyranny of distance in this country, and the opportunities for Australian businesses and researchers, are just some of the challenges I enjoy in this immense portfolio. I hope you enjoy this edition of DATA.

Senator Helen Coonan
Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.

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• Last modified: 6 February 2008, 11:52am