The National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA) continues to play an active role in shaping national policy discussions, with CEO Bronwen Clark recently participating in a high-level industry roundtable on the future of mobile telecommunications in Australia.
Held in Canberra and convened by the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA), the roundtable marked the launch of Future of Mobile: Reforms to modernise Australia’s telecommunications - a new report developed by Deloitte Access Economics to guide national reform priorities.
The roundtable brought together senior representatives from Commonwealth government agencies, major telecommunications providers, infrastructure companies, and peak bodies. NGAA’s inclusion reflects the growing recognition of the critical role growth areas play in delivering digital infrastructure alongside housing and essential services.
AMTA's report largely considers digital infrastructure in isolation. In practice, mobile telecommunications infrastructure is delivered within a complex ecosystem of other utilities, land use planning frameworks, development approval systems and long term infrastructure strategies. Ensuring alignment across these systems is essential to delivering timely, reliable connectivity for growth areas.
While the report represents a positive step forward in advancing telecommunications reform, it is important to recognise several key considerations. Improved coordination across systems is necessary; however, the creation of a new central role alone may not adequately address the underlying complexity that exists across Commonwealth, state and local government frameworks.
Similarly, a one-size-fits-all approach to planning and delivery is unlikely to be effective given the diversity of local contexts in which infrastructure is delivered. Digital infrastructure must also be approached as a shared responsibility between industry and government, rather than through transactional or incentive-driven mechanisms.
Importantly, bypassing local government decision-making is not a sustainable or effective solution, with better outcomes achieved through early engagement, collaboration and respect for place-based considerations.
NGAA will continue to advocate on behalf of our members for:
