The chief of the Australian Smart Communities Association, Laurie Pattton, has called for multi-level government co-operation to help make Australia a world leader in the smart use of technology to improve cities and communities.
Patton, the former executive director of Internet Australia, has recently taken over as ASCA chief executive.
He says he believes the time has come for federal, state and local governments to work together on a national strategy to ensure every community, large or small, experiences the benefits of an international movement to create so-called “Smart Cities”.
“We are well on the way, with Melbourne and Ipswich both named in a global top seven announced recently by the New York-based Intelligent Communities Forum, yet there are many places where the work is yet to begin.
{loadposition peter}“ASCA recognises the importance of putting people first – and viewing things from a local perspective while also drawing on international experience. It's about better using technology to make a community smarter while improving its residents’ quality of life."
ASCA was originally created as the Broadband Alliance by people primarily involved in local government who saw great opportunities in an emerging digitally-enabled world. It is the not-for-profit peak body representing people and organisations spearheading moves to make communities more liveable, more sustainable and more technologically empowered.
“We need every level of government to embrace the smart use of technology to deal with increasing congestion, environmental issues and the many other constraints that are causing people to question the state of modern city living,” Patton said.
“Smart lighting systems that reduce our power needs, smart parking systems, intelligent traffic monitoring, connected garbage bill that alert councils when they’re full. These are just some of the solutions already being deployed around the world.”