Electronic community networks in rural Australia: A model for social development in the Information Society

Abstract

Sophisticated new information and communications technologies are considered prerequisites for electronic commerce and communication in an increasingly globalised society. For Australia, advanced communications systems are seen as a vehicle for maximising economic opportunities and ensuring international competitiveness. As an essential foundation to its global aspirations, Australia has initiated plans to construct a national information and communications network. This paper provides a critical analysis of these plans as they relate to rural and remote Australia and proposes localised non-profit electronic community networks as a socially just and more appropriate means of ensuring the viability of Australia's rural communities in an emerging ‘information society’. In doing so, the paper highlights the likelihood of an increasing ‘information rich’ and ‘information poor’ divide and introduces questions about the role of social work in the ‘information age.’