New Zealand's National Party Outlines Plan to Boost Broadband Demand

Should the National Party in New Zealand be elected for another term, it would initiate a five-point action plan to promote the benefits of faster broadband, Computerworld magazine has reported.

The magazine, quoting Steven Joyce, New Zealand's Information and Communications Technology Minister, said the Ministry of Economic Development will coordinate the plan to promote e-education, e-health, e-government, e-business and e-development initiatives, while specific agencies will be responsible for specific projects. As examples, Joyce said the National Health IT Board will be responsible for initiatives in the health sector and the Ministry of Education will be responsible for the Network for Learning initiative, which has a budget of $300 million to $400 million for the next 10 years.

According to Computerworld, Joyce said there will be no separate ICT Ministry or department within the Prime Minister's office, as suggested by the Labor Party. Moreover, the National Party has no plan to combine the ICT and broadcasting portfolios.

Joyce also reiterated his party's promise to release the 4G spectrum immediately, despite concerns by InternetNZ that the government could be acting too soon and creating a plan that is incompatible with other countries in the Asia Pacific region.