
Issue No 44		03 March 2000

The Soapbox

Kate Lundy on Cyberdemocracy

Labor's IT spokeswoman charts the lay of the land in the Information Age and asks: what becomes of the nation state?


	Kate Lundy

Late last year the CBS world news in the US ran a story that carried this headline: "Australia Vote Keeps Monarchy: Rejects Referendum To Make Country A Republic". The UK tabloids pegged Australians as cowards. When we rejected the Republic, Australians gave away one of the greatest chances to build a fresh, dynamic presence in the knowledge economy and the global community.

More than anything else, the republic referendum was about the future, an opportunity to establish Australia in the eyes of the world as a nation state capable of active and effective participation in a the global economy. Regardless of the issues the referendum campaign was fought upon, the result has meant Australia has given the impression we lack vision, courage and pride as a nation.

If your attitude remains one of ambivalence towards how Australia is perceived by others around the globe, then I would suggest that you are yet to come to terms with globalisation.

Living with globalisation means that not only does Government have to be diligent in managing an economy within the fickle, deregulated international money market, but the Government must also be equally diligent in managing our cultural identity. To use a corporate analogy: you can have the best CFO in the world, but if your marketing division is asleep 'brand Australia' goes no-where.

Like many developed countries, the prevailing wisdom has been that the concept of the nation state is breaking down as the ubiquitous internet creates opportunities for new interests to align across old borders. However this attitude fails to recognise that the actual unit in the international community of nations is still the nation state. It is just that the identity of the nation state will be defined far more by cultural identity than by economic identity. It is the economic identity that will diminish relative to other identifying features.

I would like to share the story of just one nation state struggling with its social, cultural and economic identity in the final moments of the second millennium.

Australia arrives at this point with incredible strengths, and unfortunately some significant weaknesses. Government has a specific role to continually analyse the situation and create a policy framework that will make the most of our positive attributes and shore up our vulnerabilities.

The definition of globalisation I find most comforting is that of 'democratisation of technology', courtesy of Thomas Friedman. However, despite the rosy connotation that accompanies such a definition, this in no way means that somehow globalisation makes technology democratically accessible.

The 'democratisation' that has occurred comes after years of computer hardware getting smaller and more powerful, software becoming user friendly and compression of digital information. In a technological sense, becoming digital enabled globalisation, because being digital meant a common standard for the distribution of data, be it in, voice, text, applications, graphics or moving image form.

All these technological developments culminated in the commercialisation of a world wide network capable to exchanging of digital information - the internet. 'Democratisation' in this context simply means more people could potentially access the internet.

As a result a world where communications and relationships were previously defined in terms of proximity, has now metamorphosed into a world where distance is merely a question of bandwidth. The capacity to participate in this world, this knowledge economy, is therefore determined by internet access. For technology, epitomised by the internet, to be become democratically accessible, universal connectivity must ascend in political priority.

Accompanying, or perhaps as a result of the shrinkage of the world in communication and information terms, political and economic relationships are continuing to change and adjust to the global environment.

The Internet has enabled unprecedented rates of change in the social, political, economic and cultural spheres. It has redefined the empowered citizen and the nation state. Globalisation is most often the term used to describe the symptoms of the depth of change enabled by the internet.

Thomas Friedman, in his book 'The Lexus and the Olive Tree' says "Today's era of globalisation is built around falling telecommunications costs - thanks to microchips, satellites, fibre optics and the Internet. These new technologies are able to weave the world together even tighter."

Whilst Australia's pre-occupation with the end of the Cold War is far less than others, the implications are still significant. First and foremost is has meant that once and for all there should be no illusion that political decision making is somehow distinct from prevailing market forces. Governments, individually and as participants in international communities will continue to guide the structure of modern society.

Secondly the role of governments as technological drivers in a market economy are no longer expressed almost singularly through expenditure on defense-related research, development and deployment. Instead investment should be spread across innovation industries, including information technology and bio-technology industries.

The realisation that there is a definitive role for government in information technology policy comes as a shock to many who believed the strident, anti-interventionist rhetoric that accompanied economic rationalism extended into all areas of administration and governance.

Whether it is the effect of electronic commerce on taxation framework conditions, fostering an entrepreneurial culture, seeing bandwidth in a new light or recognition that education is the key to a prosperous future, public policy will continue to have a pervasive and essential role. It is a role that must, by definition, protect and enhance the interests of all citizens, so they have the opportunity and ability to participate fully in society as it continues to evolve.

The ability to participate in the knowledge economy is very quickly defining the haves and have-nots of the next millennium. Access to the internet and the skills to use the hardware and software are in my view, a prerequisite in allowing an individual to fully participate in society in the future. This is why universal connectivity must be a right in the same way as literacy is as far as skills go, and in the same way as utilities like power and water as far as access goes.

Every day more people are confronted with www.somethingorother being advertised in traditional media. This serves as a reminder to the seventy-five percent of Australians that do not have internet access that they are missing out on something. Even Government has been getting into the picture. Unfortunately governments tend to transfer services to an on-line environment as a cost cutting measure. Surely it is obvious that this will only serve to disenfranchise a huge proportion of the population?

Is it no wonder that citizens are disillusioned with government? Identifying the causes of the frustrations felt by many Australians requires a look at these big picture issues, particularly about the role of government. A large part of the backlash against the republic experienced only ten days ago can be interpreted as a stick up the nose of a political establishment seen as irrelevant and therefore undeserving of anything it sought. This begs the question: were the cynical tactics of the No Campaign to shamelessly foster the contempt felt by many Australians towards their political representatives the key to their success?

I suspect as much, but there were other disturbing features. In the same way we saw the country divided in the first term as a result of the profile afforded Pauline Hanson by her conservative peers, we see a nation once again divided along metropolitan and regional lines. The common factors in the two campaigns were the call for Australia's identity to be re-established using definition of the past. Economic definition, remembering Hanson's call for greater protection; cultural definition, who can forget the appalling racism that echoed around the globe and finally a public attack on the political process and representatives as being incapable of acting in anyone's interests but their own.

The insecurities of so many of our citizens drawn out in these experiences and reflected at the ballot box at both recent elections and the referendum support the unequivocal need for Government to address the issue of both cultural and economic identity in a globalised environment. It is a grave reflection and socially irresponsible to exploit the fear and concern people have of change for short-term political goals.

We know that rural and regional Australians are feeling marginalised in the information economy, because at the recent regional summit held in Canberra identified connectivity as one of the single greatest failings of both the market and the government.

We know that the rhetoric accompanying globalisation includes 'mobilisation of labour and the means of production', creating concern about employment prospects.

It includes 'diminishing the role of the nation state', evoking concern that our national heritage will be lost forever. It includes 'regionalisation of economies' worrying those who barely scrape by in the domestic market. It includes 'a new-world order' which frightens the hell out of people who have an interest in national security. It includes 'how the internet is going to change the way we live our lives' prompting fear for those who are happy the way things are.

Globalisation includes all these messages and yet the Federal Government continues to merely exploit the concerns rather than show leadership. A vision is required that puts into context the changes that are taking place with globalisation.

For a full copy of this speech visit Kate's website - http://www.katelundy.com.au

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  Issue 44 contents

Interview: The Big Fella
Opposition Leader Kim Beazley speaks about Laborï¿½s evolving relationship with the trade union movement in the post-Accord era.

Unions: An Interactive Resource
The priority for unions in the 21st century is organising and growth. Greg Combetï¿½s unions @work report identified the direction unions should be moving.

Media: Public Hearings
As the big media players look increasingly tarnished, the broadcasting minnows like FBi are seeking their share of the airwaves.

History: Labour History Under Siege
In good labour tradition, the history section of Workers Online begins the year with a call to arms.

Olympics: Games Greed Boosts Homeless Numbers
'Homeless in Sydney' is shaping up to be the theme of the Olympics with many property owners evicting tenants and pushing up rents.

Women: No Time To Be Casual
International Womenï¿½s Day is a day to take action. As a shop steward or union delegate why not use IWD as an opportunity to encourage the women in your workplace to join the union?

International: Serbian And Kosovo Unions Meet
The Italian metalworkers has hosted meetings on how to build a different future for the workers in the Balkans.

Labour Review: What's New
Read the latest issue of Labour Review our resource for students, activists and officials.

Review: Rock and a Hard Place
A hippie festival? Alternative? No way...the music festival know as the Big Day Out (BDO) is fast becoming a mainstream youth cultural event, a snapshot of the broader society that unions are struggling to engage.

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» Auditor General Moves on TAFE

» Yahoo! Under Fire for Union Censorship

» Unrest Bubbles Over Coke Sackings

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» Western Sydney Added to Campus Tour

» Pay Equity Update

» STOP PRESS: Mac Attack Tuesday