ACS scolds govt for lax investment

Federal and state governments have come under fire from the Australian Computer Society (ACS) for what it claims is insufficient support of the IT industry.

ACS Victorian chairman Ian Wells said at its Green ICT conference this month the government had neglected to financially support the IT industry while providing automotive manufacturers with billions of dollars in subsidies.

"We are under siege from a lack of support of government policy for ICT... for a long, long time all levels of government have not understood IT," Wells said.

"They had out literally billions to the car industry and IT falls by the wayside. We have been unsuccessful in getting the ears of politicians - frankly, it goes over their heads so either they don't get it or don't want to."

Politicians will invest in green IT technologies after the global financial crisis, according to Well who also said Australia has an "incredibly poor" record with e-waste management.

Last week federal environment ministers agreed on a national e-waste recycling plan which may introduce a tax on the sale or importation of IT equipment. Under the industry-developed proposals, all e-waste would be recycled via curb-side collection.

Well praised the government for committing to the National Broadband Network, and likened its impact to the deployment of the national rail network.

"It is very welcomed and let's hope it happens... in another 40 years, the landscape will be different again," he said.