A Victorian gold rush city is expected to mine the benefits of a new government project to establish a Televillage.
The program will involve Telstra providing the City of Ballarat with custom-made phonecall packages and IT programs.
The Minister for State and Regional Development, John Brumby says the project will include work already started on the Ballarat Internet portal, which is designed as a single point of entry on the Internet for residents.
-The Televillage project will draw on the expertise and enthusiasm of the Ballarat community in using technology to generate economic and social benefits, including boosting employment opportunities," Brumby said.
The Ballarat project is part of the Victorian government's initiative to rollout improved innovation and information technology services across the state.
-Our recent Budget included AU$268.6 million for new IT projects across Victoria," Brumby said.
Other initiatives will include:
- AU$54 million to providing new technology in Victorian classrooms
- AU$30 million over three years on an IT strategy for the health sector
- AU$30 million on an e-land titles register, enabling electronic land title searches
- AU$4 million for the redevelopment of the Victorian Government's Web site
- AU$3 million for the installation of high-tech video conferencing infrastructure, including access to Internet facilities, at 30 regional centres.
