Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2011/10/16/nsw_gets_digital_taskforce/

NSW to become digital alley

Govt pledges support to digital innovators

By Natalie Apostolou

Posted in On-Prem, 16th October 2011 22:00 GMT

A new taskforce has been named by the NSW government to develop a ten year Digital Economy Industry Action Plan, supported by an initial $AU3 million fund to drive creative digital content projects.

NSW government Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner reaffirmed his commitment to turning NSW into a "digital alley" hub.

"The Digital Economy Industry Action Plan will provide a strategic long-term vision for our digital economy, including regional perspectives, to identify and harness future growth opportunities while addressing identified challenges," he said.

The Digital Economy Industry Action Plan will focus on areas including: digital content and applications; information services and analytics; and smart networks and intelligent technologies.

Stoner also announced that a $AU3 million Interactive Media Fund had been launched for the next two years to support NSW creative digital content, including electronic games and transmedia projects.

"We are refining the Digital Media Initiative to reflect its alignment with industry priorities and have invested $3 million in the new Interactive Media Fund,” he said. The government is also increasing the amount of enterprise funding available under the Interactive Media Fund from $AU100,000 to $AU250,000 to help expanding companies bring in specialist skills to work across complex projects.

Members of the NSW Digital Economy Industry Action Plan Taskforce include Director of IBM R&D Australia Glenn Wightwick as chair, Omnilab director Tom Kennedy, Freelancer.com CEO Matt Barrie, Telstra GMD Applications & Ventures Group Deena Shiff, The Project Factory’s Jennifer Wilson, Ausgrid general manager Peter Birk, OneVentures managing director Dr Michelle Deaker, CSIRO Group Executive of Information Services Dr Alex Zelinsky and Foxtel CIO Robyn Elliott. ®