Fruitbowl - Fresh Ideas from Hawke's Bay

Thank you for all that attended for the great turn out today. We had around 60 people to meet with ICT Minister Steven Joyce.

It was a real privilege to get such quality time with Steven.  Thank you very much local MP Craig Foss who provided the opportunity. Also thanks to Mayor Lawrence Yule who also attended.

For us in the ICT community, who understand how technology has the potential to eliminate distance and the substantial opportunity that provides, Steven probably has the most important and difficult job in New Zealand. What is decided and subsequently implemented will have a big impact on the country for may years to come.

I’d only had a few quick exchanges with Steven in the last year and so this was the first opportunity I’d had to really engage. There is no doubt Steven is a smart cookie and it quickly becomes obvious why he has been given the big and important portfolios. He really understands this stuff and has the horsepower to deal with the complexity.

I think we did a good job demonstrating the Bay is coordinated.  He provided clear signals that the regions also need to engage with Telecom. It was good to get a better understanding of what the Government is thinking in regard to dark fibre (that’s the bit they want to fund – not layer 2 – though the Regional Fibre Co’s can and should provide layer 2 services).

Personally I found it cathartic to have a robust discussion on International.  It’s important that us in the ICT industry keep reinforcing the message about wanting to connect our businesses globally.

I managed to have a bit more of a chat with Steven after the event and gained more appreciation that he absolutely understands the content business from his radio and Jasons background. I think it’s important we keep the big picture in place as potentially content models, rather than traditional Telco models are they key to further broadband funding. I cover a bit more about that here:

Googles internet bandwidth may be free

I hope others saw today as a step forward for the region and the ICT sector.  In a few short months I think we’ve ignited a vibrant local community.  Having that coordination leads to the opportunity to engage with the key people as we did today.

Thanks again for your support.