The Hon Daryl Williams AM QC MP MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE ARTS

The Hon Ian Macfarlane MP MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY, TOURISM AND RESOURCES

18 March 2004

AUSTRALIA - NO. 1 IT OUTSOURCING DESTINATION

Australia is the best place in the developed world to base software development operations according to the KPMG 2004 Competitive Alternatives Study.

This No.1 ranking confirms that Australia's information and communications technology (ICT) industry is in pole position to win sought-after ICT jobs in the competitive offshore outsourcing market.

The KPMG study ranked Australia first in software design, web and multimedia operations based on our low business costs and, overall, Australia was ranked the second least expensive place to do business

Australia was also ranked second, marginally behind Canada, as a location for research and development. One important factor was the Australian Government's favourable R&D tax concessions.

Together with highly skilled, multilingual workers, a world class IT infrastructure and a stable government, Australia has emerged as an attractive low risk business environment for software development operations.

The Australian Government is selling this message to the world through the Technology Australia brand.

If Labor had its way, Australia would quickly lose its No.1 ranking.

Two key reasons for Australia's top ranking are Australia's low taxes and low cost, flexible IT workforce. Labor wants to increase taxes on business and force IT workers into an old world industrial relations system.

The Information Technology Contract and Recruitment Association (ITCRA) has warned that Labor's Industrial Law Reform (Fair Work) Bill 2004 in South Australia will be "seriously detrimental" to the State's 7000 ICT workers and might force them to move interstate. If Labor introduced similar Commonwealth laws, thousands of jobs could be forced overseas.

Unlike Labor, which wants to resurrect an old world industrial relations systems and old world protectionist walls in response to offshore outsourcing, the Australian Government is making Australia's ICT industry the best and most competitive in the world.

More information on KPMG's 2004 Competitive Alternatives study is available at http://www.competitivealternatives.com

Media contacts:
Carina Tan-Van Baren (Mr Williams) (02) 6277 7480/ 0439 425 373
Kirsty Boazman (Mr Macfarlane) (02) 6277 7580/ 0412 171 444