Smarter ways to build the future

‘Underutilisation of infrastructure assets is rife across Australia—in both the private and public sectors.’

That is the view of National ICT Australia (NICTA), the nation’s largest ICT research organisation, which is set to give evidence tomorrow at an Inquiry into the role of Smart ICT in the design and planning of infrastructure.

NICTA believes that ‘there are simple and specific steps (the) government can take that will greatly enhance the efficiency of Australia’s infrastructure,’ including:

• The harmonisation of data formats;
• The development and deployment of more innovative technology; and
• An examination of the productivity benefits of Smart ICT in transport and supply chains.

The Infrastructure and Communications Committee will look at smarter ways to build and use public and private infrastructure, and will hear from witnesses representing industry and the university sector.

Committee Chairman Jane Prentice MP (Ryan, Qld) said, “Australia needs to do more than just simply build more infrastructure; we need to build smarter, more efficient infrastructure, and make better use of the infrastructure we already have.”

Mrs Prentice noted that the technology and information systems required to build smart infrastructure were already available—governments and industry just needed to apply them.

Details of the hearing are as follows:
Date: Friday, 21 August 2015
Time: 10:30 am–1:15 pm
Venue: NICTA (Australian Technology Park), Level 5, 13 Garden Street, EVELEIGH NSW

10:30am NICTA(Submission 23)
11:15am Lynnwood Consulting (Submission 16)
11:45am buildingSMART (Submission 10)
12.15am SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong (Submission 12)
12:45am Laing O’Rourke (Submission 15)

The public hearing will be webcast live at http://www.aph.gov.au/live

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