Addressing the ‘Digital Divide’ in Aotearoa New Zealand

This concise and useful background article was written for the Finnish Encyclopedia of Digital Government by Marilyn Head, who helped in the drafting of the Digital Strategy. The opinions are her own.

Abstract:

A general background covering the physical, demographic, social , economic and political conditions relevant to the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in Aotearoa New Zealand is followed by examples of ICT initiatives implemented over the past five years.  A discussion of whether a ‘digital divide’ exists in this country backgrounds the selection of the key focus areas of the recently released draft Digital Strategy. The report concludes with initiatives foreshadowed by the Digital Strategy, which will be finalised in May 2005.

Background

Geography, demography, government:

Aotearoa New Zealand is a small industrialised nation, about the same size as the United Kingdom, lying 1200 kilometres east of Australia in the south Pacific Ocean.  It comprises two large islands and several smaller ones, straddling the boundary between the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates.  The North Island is volcanically active with a central plateau whilst the high peaks of the Southern Alps forms the backbone of the South Island.

The vast majority of people live in urban centres, with over one and a quarter million people of the total population of four million living in the largest northern city in the North Island, Auckland. The disparate distribution of the population and large proportion of rugged mountainous terrain pose particular challenges to establishing equitable access to a competitive telecommunications infrastructure.

In 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi established an equal partnership between the indigenous Maori people and the British crown that is the basis of our stable democratic government (a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth of Nations). Of Aotearoa’s well educated multicultural population of 4 million, Maori people comprise about 14% of the population; Asian and Pacific peoples each comprise 6% and the remainder of the population is of European descent.

The higher than average growth and relative youth of the Maori and Pacific populations means that,  by 2020, 20% of New Zealanders will be of Polynesian descent. Increasingly, they will make up a larger proportion of the labour force as, in common with other first world nations, Aotearoa faces an aging population.  In addition New Zealand has taken a strong leadership role in the South Pacific region and is the largest demographic centre for many Pacific peoples.  The Treaty and our close alliance with Pacific Island nations are important factors guiding government policy on digital content and accessibility and heritage (intellectual property) issues.

Regulatory Regime – Telecommunication Environment:

Since the 1980’s,  the economy, including the telecommunications industry, has been characterised by open competitive entry with minimal regulation.  The 2001 Telecommunications Act established an independent regulatory authority to promote competition in telecommunications markets for the long-term benefit of end-users, and addresses issues of equity for the disadvantaged. Currently 16 companies, including Telecom New Zealand, TelstraClear, and Vodafone, offer telecommunication services and there are 168 Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

Relatively cheap dial up internet access, a result of the Kiwi Share Obligation (KSO) requiring the provision of telephone services at reasonable cost, facilitated the rapid adoption and diffusion of internet use, although broadband uptake has been low. high cost of broadband prevented the same rapid uptake of broadband. Lowered prices as a result of partial Local Loop Unbundling in May 2004 are spurring uptake of broadband, which is a key goal of the government’s strategy.  A number of relatively small, localised, wireless operators have entered the telecommunications market offering broadband wireless services using general user radio licence spectrum (2.4 and 5 GHz bands).

Electronic activities such as eftpos transactions, internet banking, digital photography, mobile phone texting and email are now well established in the economic and social lives of most New Zealanders. The prescient Electronic Transactions Act , based on the Model Law on Electronic Commerce issued by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), established the legitimacy of electronic transactions which are on the same legal footing as paper-based transactions. Legislation is, as far as possible, technology neutral.

Business:

New Zealand is predominantly a nation of small firms with 97% employing 19 or fewer fulltime staff and 86% employing fewer than 5 staff. Thus business uptake is more critically connected to the individual than may be the case with other countries. Crucially, the Internet extends New Zealand’s small market to a global one. 88% of New Zealand businesses use computers for an increasing variety of e-business activities including electronic financial transactions, recruitment, purchasing, delivery co-ordination and training. 87% of large businesses operate a website, though this figure drops to 44% for the smallest companies  .

The ICT sector is small (about 6% of GDP), innovative and highly regarded. New Zealand ICT companies operate in a very competitive information technology (IT) market, with a range of equipment and software companies supplying both the domestic market and high-value niche export markets. New Zealand’s small size, geographic isolation and technology-aware population have made it an ideal test bed for several new technologies, for example electronic funds transfer point of sale – eftpos.

New Zealand has long been a world leader in production, research and technology in key areas of primary produce,  keeping New Zealand competitive in spite of its distance from global markets.  Agriculture, particularly dairy products and meat, Forestry and Fishing contribute over 60 percent of export earnings over half the land is used for farming or plantations. The importance of the rural community to New Zealand’s economy and its need for highly accurate information and instant communications with global markets, has spurred innovative ICT activity in the farming sector. A notable example which has been  an important driver for rural broadband, is Fonterra’s rural networking project which aims to link all dairy farmers in Aotearoa to provide a highly detailed two way information flow between the farm and Fonterra.

Government ICT Policy:

Since 1999 the Government has set a clear programme for prioritising the development and use of innovative technologies, having a reliable, affordable communication infrastructure and providing for an ‘information – enabled’ society and sustainable economic growth. The Growth and Innovation Framework (GIF) 2002 set up three Taskforces to spur development in three areas - Biotechnology, Creative Industries and Information and Communication Technologies - chosen for their relevance to New Zealand and their potential for high growth through the smart use of technology. Subsequent ICT initiatives in 2003 were strongly focussed on increasing expertise and business capability within the ICT sector. The following year a draft Digital Strategy was released, aimed at driving horizontal ‘grass roots’ enablement and providing a unifying framework for the wide range of ICT-related initiatives that had been implemented.  The final Strategy will be released in 2005 and will be available online from the Ministry of Economic Development’s website at www.med.govt.nz

ICT- related Initiatives prior to 2004

E-government

The E-Government vision of New Zealanders being able to access “government information and services and participate in our democracy, using the Internet, telephones and other technologies as they emerge” is a four phase strategy for the integration of information, service delivery and government processes from a single point by 2010.

Access to government agencies is available online through the ‘all of government’ web portal and the second phase, that of extending the website to offer interactive capability, is widespread. Most business obligations such as filing of returns, tax payments, company registration, licensing etc. are handled electronically.

Research conducted by A C Neilson shows that New Zealand government websites as a whole group (.govt.nz) are in the top five accessed by New Zealanders.

The provision of government services on-line has increased some people’s access to government information but has also increased concern about continuing access by other means.  In addition, there has been no provision for ensuring that people are able to use the many excellent on-line government facilities effectively.  This is particularly evidenced by the Citizens Advice Bureau which has been unable to satisfactorily address enquiries about government services because its staff lack both ICT training and equipment. 

At local government level, some councils have followed the UK People’s Resource Network lead and have enabled libraries to deliver ICT services, but generally there has been no co-ordinated provision for increasing the confidence and capability of either staff or users.  An exception has been Manukau  City ‘s “Tupu” Youth library which has focussed on the intelligent delivery and use of information.

Project PROBE

As the critical importance of nationwide access to broadband was recognised, it became clear that market forces alone would not drive the investment in ICT infrastructure needed and there was high risk of the rural populations being disadvantaged. A collaborative project between the government, regions and the private sector, Project PROBE, was developed to deliver high speed internet access to all schools and provincial communities on a region by region basis over two years.

This highly successful initiative has quickly extended access to broadband into the regions at a cost of $48 million. It has contributed significantly to reduced prices for broadband and has stimulated regional economic development.

Separate contracts tendered for by a number of telecommunications companies were  negotiated for 14 regions and a satellite contract to provide access to very remote areas will result in 100% coverage by June 2005, although the price of the latter will be comparatively high. The alternative providers of wireless services such as Counties Power, and ICONZ are also benefiting from the freeing up of radio spectrum which allows inter-modal forms of competition. 

E –Education http://www.minedu.govt.nz/

The first ICT Strategy for Schools was released in 1998. The goals of this strategy were to build infrastructure and school capability. It was followed in June 2002 by the Digital Horizons: Learning through ICT which explored e-learning opportunities. This strategy focussed on the challenge of integrating ICT more fully into curriculum practice by establishing standards for sector-wide interoperability of systems, infrastructure and services, ICT clusters, online professional development, online resources, including teaching support materials and information in both English and Maori (Te Kete Ipurangi),  and improved access to ICTs, for example with subsidised laptops being offered to teachers.  

A notable theme of this and other education strategies is the emphasis on ‘lifelong learning’, e-education beyond the classroom and partnerships – between industry, government agencies, communities, tertiary institutes, the private sector and Maori. Examples of such initiatives included:

• Te Whanau a Apanui
  63% of this rural tribe are under 30 and 80% live outside the tribal rohe. Online learning opportunities for IT training and certification for high school students have been developed through Te Whanau a Apanui’s relationship with Cisco systems.
  
  Eventually the e-learning model will enable delivery of up to 1300 IT and Desktop courses and 200 business e-learning courses to any Whanau a Apanui member with Internet access anywhere in the world.
  
• Computers in Homes http://www.computersinhomes.org.nz
  This award winning (Stockholm Challenge Award) scheme provides recycled computers, training, support and Internet access to students in low decile schools for the use of the students, their families and their community.
  
• Digital Opportunities
  This project is a partnership between schools, business and government. Four pilot programmes were launched in 2001 with the aim to use ICT to enhance educational achievement, particularly in the areas of mathematics, science and technology. In 2002, Digital Opportunities won the Computerworld Excellence Award for the Most Significant Contribution to IT.
  
• NetSafe Kit for Schools,
  developed by New Zealand’s Internet Safety Group (ISG), for the Ministry of Education, provides cybersafety education for all New Zealanders - children, parents, schools, community organisations and businesses – and is in every school and library in New Zealand.
  
  Funding has also been provided for training modules, website and a range of other resources for schools and increasingly the wider community.
  
• Heritage Programme Te Keti Ipurangi  
  A structured programme for schools developed in conjunction with the National Library of New Zealand and local communities to research their local community and have the information available on line. This ‘Living Heritage’ project won an award at the World Summit.
  
• Free Beginning computing courses
  provided by the Polytechnics have had a high uptake and a mixed reception. Some have been very effective in bringing people into the institution who would not have previously accessed their courses -there were high enrolments by Pacific Island women, for instance.  But there is concern that the ‘one size fits all’ nature of the courses and lack of follow up makes this a less useful strategy for providing appropriate need-based ICT training.

Connecting Communities strategy

The Department of Labour’s Community Employment Group developed a range of community based strategies aimed at enabling all New Zealanders and community groups can access and effectively use ICTs. Some highly effective strategies included:

• Three regional pilot projects using a community-wide planning methodology to facilitate development of a range of local community-based Internet and new technology initiatives.
  
• Online tools for community groups to help groups manage volunteers, map local services, share documents and undertake routine administration.
  
• Cyber Communities This project aimed at showing how ICT can be used to give marketable skills to long term unemployed is one of the few projects where funding has been provided for technical and planning support and a full evaluation after 6 years.  The project providing training for designing websites for communities and getting them online has had early success. 

Voluntary Sector/ICT collaborations

• www.taitokerau.co.nz A highly successful project which combined commercial, cultural and research interests to enhance community and regional development in the Far North through cultural tourism was the Tai Tokerau website, a collaborative venture between the Tai Tokerau Maori Tourism Association, the Auckland University of Technology and a number of small rural communities.
  
  The website incorporates the stories, information and assets of individual communities within a broader regional and cultural framework, contributing to the development of a regional identity for tourism purposes and  to the national store of knowledge that can be accessed both nationally and internationally.
  
• Developing an initial Samoan Model of ICT training.
  This voluntary scheme, utilising Samoa Capital Radio/Si’ufoga o le Laumua, was designed to address the ICT needs of Pacific peoples where language as well as lack of ICT skills and awareness can be a barrier. An 0800 number allows callers to ask questions in one of several Pacific Island languages and they are helped ‘on air’.  Listeners are canvassed to see what questions they would like answered. Like many voluntary schemes meeting a need, the Radio helpline has proved so successful that it is difficult to sustain it at the level demand requires.  An administrative employee whose facility with ICT and expertise in PI languages now spends too much of her time on the help line!
  
  A spin-off has been that free workshops every second Saturday are held, using voluntary equipment and tutors, to train pacific Islanders in basic computer and Internet skills.  This incorporates a buddy approach and uses a variety of languages and images appropriate to the Pacific Island community. 
  
  Written resources are being developed but the long term reliance on a small pool of volunteers may jeopardise an efficient and cost effective strategy to raise awareness of ICT in the PI community.

Is there a ‘Digital Divide’ in Aotearoa New Zealand? 

When a whole of government Strategy was proposed to provide a unified framework and policy direction for ICT initiatives, a strong emphasis was put on individual and community development where ‘digital divide’ issues - that is the potential of ICTs to exacerbate existing inequalities - were assumed to be paramount.

But in Aotearoa we found that ICT divisions relating to age, gender, ethnicity, location, educational background and economic circumstances were not widespread.

For example, SeniorNet, a popular voluntary organisation for senior citizens,  moved from providing simple courses in getting emails and using Word to advanced courses in image processing within a few years; the most remote school in New Zealand,  Tuatapere, has broadband, and in the creative industries fields (music, film, fine arts) it is obvious that the some of the most vibrant and innovative users of technology in this field are Maori and Pacific peoples.

That is not to ignore the fact that socio-economic factors do impact on the use of ICTs, but, overwhelmingly, our experience is that it is at the level of awareness, interest and understanding of the potential of ICTs that the “digital divide” is most obvious and that there is great potential for ICTs to close the traditional socio-economic divides.

The situation in Aotearoa is that we have a very high and widespread use of ICT:

• 75% of those surveyed recently had used the Internet in the previous month. NZ’s usage rate was the highest of 32 countries surveyed (2)
• a high access rate, (52% computers in homes , 432,957  .nz websites, 310 .maori.nz websites, 59 .iwi.nz websites)
• excellent use of associated technology (mobile phones 67%)
• good targeted programmes which have helped to avoid large inequalities of access to ICT

The association of the lack of ICT access and skills with other socio-economic factors has the potential to obscure the real issue because:

1. It implies that they are directly linked, which in Aotearoa at least, does not seem to be the case. E.g. statistics show that Internet link and computer ownership in low income families is low and the inference is that no ownership implies no access. 
   
   In NZ the high rate of Internet access shows that while low income groups may not own computers, they certainly use and have access to them.
   
2. It can overemphasise the role of the physical infrastructure –– "Bridging the digital divide requires more than simply offering computers and internet access." (3)

Thus for the purposes of the Digital Strategy we accepted that the “digital divide” was a symptom rather than a cause of social inequality and that ICTs could be used to reduce inequalities.

The draft Digital Strategy

The challenge to realise the potential of ICTs to significantly improve the quality of life of all by ensuring that everyone is:

• Connected to the Internet
• Capable and confident of using it safely and effectively,  and that the
• Content reflects the artistic, cultural and intellectual strengths and interests of Aotearoa New Zealand

formed the basis of the Strategy’s enabling conditions for an information-empowered society.

The interdependence of relevant content, the skills to use it in a safe and secure ICT environment and affordable access to a quality telecommunications infrastructure gave three focus areas of action: Content; Confidence and capability and Connection. 

Different actions were suited to:

• Unlocking the potential of individuals and communities including communities of interest
• Promoting innovation in business in a networked environment;
• Transforming government

In developing the Digital Strategy we were cognisant of the work resulting from the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The Summit identified a number of key principles for realising the ideal information-enabled society. These WSIS principles, suitably adapted to the New Zealand situation, have been endorsed – they are part of the ‘DNA’ of the Strategy.

In particular the recommended principles of collaboration and partnership are embraced and the democratic rights of all are upheld in the vision statement "All New Zealanders will benefit from the power of ICT to harness information for economic and social gain." 

Proposed action points to address community ICT needs were taken from those identified at the Connecting Communities Conference 2003, where 500 delegates representing a wide range of community organizations and agencies participated in 40 workshops and five panel sessions. The main thrust of these actions is to:

Make communities and individuals aware of the potential of ICTs, to encourage them  to determine their own ICT needs and establish collaborative partnerships. Particular initiatives are a national awareness raising campaign, based on ‘digital stories’, the development of tools to assist communities with mapping their own assets,  a foundation for a national  interactive knowledge map and the establishment of a contestable fund for collaborative partnerships. This ‘bottom-up’, self determinative approach is a common theme of the Strategy which encourages awareness and ownership of ICT initiatives at all levels.

Our aim was for an integrated framework to set the direction of ICT policy for the next five years and we undertook extensive consultation based on the fact that this was a whole-of-government initiative aimed at driving productivity across all sectors and enabling social, cultural and economic development. 

Consultation

Extensive consultation was conducted across government agencies (including Crown Research Institutes, State Owned Enterprises and District Health Boards) and with the IT and Telecommunications sector, businesses, sector organisations, community and voluntary groups, and individuals.

The Ministry of Economic Development also undertook original research into the ways a cross section of New Zealand businesses was already using ICT. The resulting Case Studies  are a valuable resource and benchmark of NZ’s business ICT capability.

Submissions were invited after the release of the draft Digital Strategy and feedback was also received at the four industry consultation fora, and many community meetings incorporating regional, cultural and ethnic perspectives.

Overall the draft strategy has been greeted with significant enthusiasm.  The central thesis that ICT is a general purpose enabler for economic growth, and social and community development was universally acknowledged and the vision – that New Zealand should be a world leader in using ICT to achieve its economic, social and cultural goals - was strongly endorsed.

Future Directions

In summary, the final, budgeted strategy will be released in 2005 and is likely to incorporate the major themes of the draft strategy which are that business, communities and the New Zealand government will work together to build confidence and capability in a safe and secure ICT environment, improve connectivity to high speed broadband and encourage access to and creation of New Zealand content.

References

1. Clark, Bowden and Corner, 2002 E-business Adoption and Implementation in New Zealand 
2. http://www.tns-global.com/corporate/Rooms/DisplayPages/LayoutInitial?Container=com.webridge.entity.Entity[OID[29ABFABD4A40484EBB066139F1455792]] 
3. Patrick Moorhead, chairman Global Consumer Advisory Board and  Vice President Corporate Marketing at AMD