Government and the Internet

Greetings from Parliament House in Canberra, where the Parliamentary Friends of the Internet Group is holding its first meeting. There are MPs and representatives of Internet related organizations (such as Internet Australia), as well as some individuals (such as myself). It is twenty years ago that professional and industry representatives  appeared before a series of parliamentary inquiries to explain what the Internet was. It is good to see that members of the tech community are still undertaking this important task.

One topic discussed was innovation, both in terms of business, but also not-for-profits. Wyatt Roy MP, Assistant Minister, Innovation just came into the meeting. He  visited the CBR Innovation Network (CBRIN) on in September. This is a few kilometers from Parliament House and provides a good example of the fostering of the start-up culture.

I was a surprised that the NBN only got one brief mention and there was no mention of education.
 
Senator Chris Ketter will be hosting the next Parliamentary Friends of the Internet meeting.