‘Next frontier of poverty’: Big business and government’s plan to bridge digital divide

Exclusive: Nineteen years after Kevin Rudd promised a laptop for every secondary school student, the federal government and big business will unite to try and get more devices into the hands of more than 1 million disadvantaged Australian children. 

On Tuesday, Labor’s Anika Wells and Andrew Charlton will sign the Tech Reuse for Good Charter with the Business Council of Australia, creating a pipeline to get end-of-life devices from some of the worst offenders of e-waste, such as big business and government agencies, into the hands of those who need them.

About 1.4 million disadvantaged Australian kids do not have access to laptops in their home, which is essential to education, despite 2 million digital devices being dumped in landfill each year. 

The digital divide has been dubbed the “new frontier of poverty”.

Tuesday’s charter calls on big business to donate more of their unneeded devices, not just to disadvantaged students but also survivors of domestic violence, First Nations people and those living below the poverty line. 

“Too many Australians are still missing out on opportunities because they do not have access to the technology they need,” Assistant Minister for Technology Andrew Charlton told nine.com.au.

“We have been making progress on closing the digital divide, but there’s still far too many Australians that are excluded from full participation in the digital world.

“That's why we need programmes like this.” 

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Charlton was an economic advisor to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd when he promised laptops to every high school student in years 9-12, dubbed the “digital education revolution”. 

Not-for-profits WorkVentures and Good Things Australia will scrub donated devices of their digital footprints to protect privacy, and refurbish and distribute them. 

“Digital exclusion means you can’t participate fully in education, you cannot participate fully in employment,” WorkVentures chief executive Caroline McDaid said.  

“It's pervasive in all elements of society.

“One in five Australians are experiencing digital exclusion and that's much higher for certain populations.

“For example, First Nations Australians experience digital exclusion at twice the rate than the rest of the country.”

Historically, businesses and governments have been hesitant to partake in such drives, fearing any lingering intellectual property could be exploited. 

Further, the price of laptops and phones have shot up due to the rising computer chip costs, as artificial intelligence developers compete for supply. 

The initiative is voluntary, however the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, the Department of Finance, and the Digital Transformation Agency are founding signatories.

With the number of Australians experiencing poverty on the up, increasing from 12 to 14 per cent since the COVID pandemic, figures from the Smith Family show children are among the most susceptible to long-term impacts. 

Of the young people who experience disadvantage, 69 per cent will complete school, compared to 83 per cent of their peers. 

“We need to address the new frontier of poverty, and that’s digital access,” Smith Family chief executive Doug Taylor said. 

“Forty-three per cent of the families we support don't have access to a digitally connected laptop at home.

“That’s a critical resource for a young person’s education, in building the skills and having the resources to do homework just like their peers.

“We need to ensure that more young people get access to technology because that builds the skills that we need for the future economy… when young people are thriving, our nation thrives.”

As it stands, Australia will not meet its commitment under the UN Sustainable Development Goal to reduce the nation’s poverty rate by half by 2030. 

The Smith Family has advocated for the creation of an official national poverty line, which does not currently exist.