I am pleased to announce that the government will provide $5.8 million to enable councils across Victoria to provide services to their local communities over the internet.
This project will particularly assist councils in rural and regional areas and is part of the latest round of Networking the Nation projects funded from the proceeds of the part sale of Telstra.
Many councils in rural and regional areas lack the resources to develop online service delivery. Today's funding announcement aims to assist them over the next two years to improve services to their communities by making important services accessible over the internet.
These will include tenders, planning and building applications, new payment options and a range of information on community facilities. It will enable residents to comment on development proposals using the internet, pay their rates online and improve the capacity of local businesses to sell to local government.
The project has been recommended by the Networking the Nation Board based upon a strategy put forward by the Municipal Association of Victoria. All 78 councils in Victoria have been consulted and are working collaboratively to develop the project.
$1.4 million is being provided initially to get the projects started with a further $4.4 million committed for implementation.
A total of 85 new Networking the Nation projects in all states and territories are being announced today, with additional funding for 15 existing projects. This latest round of funding totals $39.6 million.
Since Networking the Nation began almost 500 projects have been funded with $238 million allocated from the Telstra sale proceeds.
Many of these projects are world's best practice examples of regional communities working with the private sector to develop innovative service solutions.
Networking the Nation is a tangible sign of the government's commitment to ensure rural and regional Australia enjoys the benefits of technological advances and it has been made possible by the part sale of Telstra.
1 February 2001