Getting in the first kick

I'm sure the topic on the DBCDE DE blog tomorrow will be something about the Online Communications Council document Framework for the collaborative development and use of broadband in Australia.

The OCC announced;

We, the members of the Online and Communications Council, express our commitment to this Framework as a basis to work together to enhance the development and effective use of broadband in Australia.

We agree that promoting the development and effective use of broadband will enhance Australia’s economic performance and environmental and social wellbeing.

Australia should aspire to become one of the world’s leading digital economies. We intend to work together to facilitate this outcome.

We share a vision of a cohesive national approach to stimulate and strengthen economic, environmental and social outcomes, through the development and effective use of broadband, for all Australians.

So I thought I'd get in first (and not just the point that when the Minister sent out his media releae the online version of the document required a password). The document breaks the matter into three priority areas of availability, take-up and usage. It is extremely hard to differentiate these from the strategies about getting greater use of the digital economy, which is one reading of the DE agenda.

The really fascinating part is that the "strategies" identified in the second two priority areas are framed as We agree to work towards:, which is probably the weakest phrase that has ever been drafted to introduce strategies. No commitment to do anything at all about the sub targets, no description of what the items might be.

For a document that took about a year to generate, the content seems a bit light on. At least there are no commitments (like building the NBN) to comeback and haunt anyone.