cBallarat heads into 2006 with new Chair

PRESS RELEASE

15/12/05

New Chair takes the helm at cBallarat and predicts a Big Year Ahead in ICT for the Region

Richard Hancock has stepped up as Chair of cBallarat Limited, the region’s peak strategic ICT body, replacing David James AO, who stays on as a Board member. Long standing board member Garnet Dean, has taken the reigns as Vice-Chair.

“cBallarat has had a significant year in 2005 and with the gather pace of ICT in Ballarat in all fields, its likely to be even bigger in 2006.” said Mr Hancock. “This organisation will play a critical role in mapping out the directions and priorities given to the focus on Information and Communications Technology and will assist in the significant expenditure in new projects in Ballarat over the next 12 months.

Mr Hancock re-iterated the busy time that the Board had in 2005, the highlights of which included:

1. Work on securing the community domain name “ballarat.vic.au”, the licence for which will be signed off by the end of the year.

2. The development and commissioning of a community online server for use by community groups and non-profit organisations under the ballarat.vic.au banner, set to be operational in early 2006.

3. The rollout of upgraded computers in the Telecommunity Centres across the Ballarat region, including Wendouree West and Sebastapol.

4. The development and management of the Ballarat ICT Clusters Project, announced by Mr Brumby in August, scheduled to be completed and up and running by March 2006. (www.ballaratict.com)

5. The development of a Discussion Paper and facilitation of forums and debate in relation to the mandating of broadband provision in new property developments in Ballarat, with the prospect of a change in the Planning Regulations to accommodate this in the first quarter of 2006.

6. The organising and running of the IPv6 seminar and forum during the Innovation Festival; a cuttng edge event which introduced some of the leading technical experts in Ballarat to the Internet Protocol of the future.

cBallarat also represented Ballarat with the City at Connect 2005, an international ICT conference in Chennai, India and has had significant input in numerous private and government consultations and seminars relating to regional and rural ICT provision and in terms of commercial development of ICT industries in the region.

“There are a number of key projects that have already formed up for 2006 including the delivery of a second discussion paper for the Council to go forward on, with regard to mandating the provision of Broadband in new estates.” said Mr Hancock.

Related to this, cBallarat is also developing a whitepaper focussing in on the development of a “Wired House” which will be a leading edge exhibition facility showcasing technology that is likely to be incorporated into houses of the future. A number of local companies developing leading edge technology have already been earmarked for involvement in this project.

Mr Hancock indicated that Ballarat’s role nationally as an ICT centre of excellence, not just in the industry side, but in terms of uptake of broadband technologies and community based technology also provided cBallarat with a platform for input into national debates relating to the shaping up of the country.

“The Federal Government has just released its Connect Australia strategy and it will be important for us to provide feedback and critique about the intended $1.1 billion expenditure in regional and rural ICT initiatives. We have had long experience in sorting out the issues and dealing with the challenges. That accumulated expertise and experience is likely to have some influence in the way in which things might be done for other communities in Australia and will influence the expenditure in our region.

With the ever increasing levels of activity, Mr Hancock confirmed that a full time executive officer would be appointed in the new year to replace the interim executive officer who is currently on only a part time appointment. The new executive officer would take on a co-ordinating role with the Ballarat ICT Cluster and would provide an executive function for the wide range of activities generated by the board of cBallarat.

A high priority function of the new officer would also be to maintain the close working relationship that exists between the University, The City, State and Federal Government counterparts and local industry players.

Mr Hancock also acknowledged the contributions of retiring Board members David Haymes the Managing Director of Haymes Paint, Andre Agterhuis the Executive Chairman of Roadcon Developments and the departure earlier in the year of Kerry Cox, the Vice Chancellor of the University.

“All of these very busy people played critical and invaluable roles in the work of cBallarat and they are all sorely missed. But we consider ourselves very fortunate to have had the benefit of their expertise for the terms that they served.” In the case of David Haymes and Kerry Cox, Mr Hancock noted that they had been active contributors since the inception of cBallarat in 2001.

In the new year, the Board will look to select 2 – 3 new appointees to the board, with a view to maintaining a broad spectrum of expertise and insight.

Current Board Members

Contact Details:

George Fong – ICT Co-Ordinator, cBallarat Ltd

Email: coordinator@cballarat.com.au

Phone: 03 53 302 880

Mobile: 0438 88 74 88

Fax: 03 53 302 881

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