Ms BADGER – Online access centres have been vital to lots of regional communities. The Education minister recently headed up a review into those. I can’t speak for online access centres in other electorates except for my own in Lyons, where of course the internet and phone reception is notoriously terrible. Those hubs are the heart of the community and there’s not a single online access centre that I’ve spoken to that felt heard or seen by the review.
A lot of them didn’t even get feedback on what they provided, and they’re really keen to hear from you to find out what advocacy you’ve been doing on their behalf and if how you’re going to integrate their views and the essential service that is online access centres that isn’t provided anywhere else to make sure that these communities don’t fall further behind, as these services are rolled and amalgamated with Libraries Tasmania.
Ms OGILVIE – There are multiple bits to that question as well, but I know how well-loved online access centres are and how they’ve been around for a long time and have morphed from just a place where you can get access to a truly social community hub, most of them, so I get that. They do sit under Libraries which is the minister for Education, not me, but in recognising the reason for them, that is about digital inclusion. We have been doing that work through Our Digital Future. I believe it sits in there, mapping out what we think models could look like, so it’s not just online access centres; we have contemporisation needed for them, but also for small business and other sectors of the community.
That piece of work, particularly as it sits within Education, is funded through those channels, not through me, and there’s some frustration over time that I haven’t been able to just wade in as well, but the opportunity is here now to look at what we should be or could be doing in the future on those. I believe there is a really strong role for libraries to play in this as the centre of digitised information and I certainly know that my local library in the north of my electorate does a great job as well. I don’t want to dodge the question, but I’m not the responsible minister. I do see the need and I do understand how much people love them. Digital inclusion in a contemporary setting needs, again, a bit of a road map and we’ve been looking at that.
Ms BADGER – Thank you. Will you make a representation on their behalf, was really the hub of that question. I’m noting the time, I guess 30 seconds or less, what are you also doing to ensure there is a high-powered internet for AI data centres, because obviously Tasmania is not renowned for that, unfortunately?
Ms OGILVIE – Subsea cable and all I need is the federal government. If you could help me lobby them, I’d be delighted. I can table a couple of letters. Help me get the cables and we will be good to go. But yes, I will lobby for –
Ms BADGER – I believe we went through this in the last Estimates, minister, and it goes back to the Marinus fibre optic cable as well.
Ms OGILVIE – No, there are other projects and other cables. I am just going to go for it, because I can’t see any Labor people here: we need the federal government to step up. Telecommunication sits in the constitution. It’s their responsibility. We should have more subsea cables.
Ms BADGER – So you’re seeking more cables, more projects in addition. Thank you.
Ms OGILVIE – And with online access centres, I’m always happy to wade in with conversation and support where I can. It may be that we need to think about how we’re delivering it as a government, where it sits in portfolios, those sorts of things. I am happy to have those conversations.
