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Ballarat East MP, Geoff Howard is deputy chair of the state parliament Rural and Regional Committee, which is now commencing an inquiry into best practice in e-business and remote working policy. |
With the Federal Labor rollout of the National Broadband Network, regional
Victoria, including Kyneton, Castlemaine and Romsey, is now becoming closer than
ever to Melbourne and other sites across the world.
This means that the
disadvantages presented by distance are now no longer so limiting to economic
opportunities for regional communities and regional Victorians can have broader
work options.
The state parliament Rural and Regional Committee is now
commencing an Inquiry into best practice in e-business and remote working
policy.
Ballarat East MP, Geoff Howard, is deputy chair of the committee. Mr
Howard said that there's no doubt that teleworking is growing more popular
across the world as economies change from traditional models to become more
information based.
"At present we have a significant number of people who
commute to Melbourne for work daily," he said.
"Not only does this see much
time and stress added to the working day of commuters but it adds to traffic
congestion and costs governments more as the pressure to build more freeways and
upgrade public transport to meet this demand.
"Governments in other
countries, including USA and many European countries, have taken action to
require government departments and private businesses to set targets for more
staff to be able to work from home for one or more days per week.
"Workers
from home often say they are more productive and have a better work-life
balance. Also the potential benefits of getting cars off the roads and keeping
people in rural and regional Victoria are enormous while the opportunity to
attract more people to come and make that lifestyle move away from
Melbourne.
"This Inquiry will look to determine the best way to ensure rural
and regional Victoria is prepared for the opportunities provided by the
broadband rollout."
Mr Howard said he believed that many people who presently
commute or who already work from home would have useful insights to share
regarding what government could do to promote increased telecommuting and
e-business.
"Our committee is calling for submissions to the Inquiry and I
would encourage anyone prepared to share their views to contact me or go to the
committee's website to register their interest," he said.
"We are interested
in hearing from experts who can provide advice and information on the inquiry's
Terms of Reference. We are also interested in people in regional areas who have
first-hand experience of teleworking or establishing their own
e-business."
To view the full Terms of Reference and information on how to
make a submission to the Inquiry, visit www.parliament.vic.gov.au/rrc or phone
Geoff Howard on 5331 7722.