135. There is no specific information available on whether people with low or no qualifications are affected by a digital divide in New Zealand. However, there will be a significant degree of intersection between this group and those on low incomes, a group for which we do have some information. Given that computer use generally requires a high level of literacy, it is probably reasonable to assume that ICT access and skills for those with poor literacy is low.

The unemployed and the underemployed

136. There is no specific information available on whether the unemployed and underemployed are affected by a digital divide in New Zealand. However, there will be a significant degree of intersection between this group and those on low incomes, a group for which we do have some information. As many people gain access to ICT through work, it could be expected that people without access to work would also miss out on ICT access and training.

People in areas lacking a sound telecommunications structure

137. One of the clearest messages that has come out of the Ministerial Inquiry into Telecommunications and its associated submissions is that access is a major issue for people in rural areas.

138. For the farming community, the problem seems to be mainly one of access, and in particular, the capacity and reliability of the telecommunications infrastructure, particularly in regard to data traffic (e.g. research commissioned by MAF found that while a majority of respondents had computers, and land-based and mobile phones, 54% reported significant line problems). Skills and attitudes seem to be less of an issue for this group.

139. However, for other rural dwellers, lack of ICT skills and inability to afford access to ICT compound infrastructure problems.

Women and girls

140. There is relatively little information on women and ICT. Men are slightly more likely to use the Internet than women, although it is not clear which dimension this is related to. Traditionally, females have been under-represented in technical subjects and employment in these areas. In relation to this, it is interesting to note the research commissioned for MoRST, which identified a segment of the general public, with a high proportion of women, who were unconvinced that science and technology work is well paid, abundant and offers a good long-term career.

People with disabilities

141. There has been an increasing demand by people with disabilities for assistive technology. By and large, this group has positive attitudes to the technology, seeing its potential to reduce barriers to participation in society. The down side is that this has put greater pressure on existing sources of funding for assistive technology. There is also some evidence of ICT excluding people with disabilities (e.g. many websites, including government ones, cannot be accessed by people who use special software to read websites).

What we know about the dimensions of the divide, and their possible implications for policy

142. As noted in paragraph 5, officials have been focusing their fact-finding on four related dimensions of the digital divide: access, skills and support, attitudes (or motivations) and content. While there are still some areas where gathering further information would be useful, there are a number of general conclusions that can be reached about the relevance of the various dimensions of the digital divide, and the implications these have for further policy work.

Access

143. To a degree, most or all people who live some distance from a major urban centre are on the wrong side of the digital divide, as the reliability of the telecommunications infrastructure becomes a major problem as you move further from a major telephone exchange. Advancing technology presents some hope of addressing this issue, but this may be some way off, and may still involve expensive investment. This is an issue that will be considered as part of the Government's response to the Ministerial Inquiry into Telecommunications.

144. For many of the people affected by rural access problems, there is no financial constraint to their access, in that they can afford computers and Internet access. However, there are also many people and community groups who cannot afford a computer or the ongoing cost of Internet access (which itself is likely to be higher in rural areas). Maori and Pacific people are particularly likely to fall into this category. Where they live in rural areas, rural access problems compound the financial dimension.

145. There are a number of policy possibilities that could be investigated to overcome financial barriers to access. Providing in-home access to low-income families is a possibility - the Ministry of Education has contributed to a Computers in Homes pilot project already. Providing community access sites is another option, with a number of access points already existing or soon to exist (e.g. schools, libraries, homework centres, Heartland Service Centres) that could be opened to the public, if they are not already. However, it should not be automatically assumed that people will want to access ICT in these locations. Consideration needs to be given to providing ICT where people are most comfortable using it, which might mean considering locations like church halls or public bars.

146. There are a number of possibilities for finding the hardware for such sites. A number of government agencies and private businesses have been looking to give away used computers and other ICT hardware. There may be some merit in providing information to facilitate the matching of donors to needy people and communities. While such matching has the potential to provide access to those who don't have it, it is important to note the need to update donated hardware and software, so that the quality of access does not diminish in a world of ever-advancing ICT.

147. Assisting community organisations with access is also a potentially useful way of building community capacity. The Community Development Group of the Department of Internal Affairs and the Community Employment Group of the Department of Labour have been active in this area already, and consideration could be given to placing greater emphasis on boosting ICT capacity. There is scope for this to also come through the Closing the Gaps strategy.

148. ICT access is clearly important for people with disabilities, as a way to overcome some of the barriers to economic and social participation. People with disabilities have been placing increasing demand on existing sources of funding for assistive technology. Consideration may need to be given to increasing such funding. This is an issue that may best be dealt with as part of the Government's Disability Strategy.

Skills and support

149. Young people are increasing being exposed to ICT, and learning how to use it, in schools. It is clear that there is still work to be done in providing ICT skills to teachers, and teaching information literacy skills, but the ground work seems to be in place.

150. Providing training to people once they have left school is also important. While many of these people will own computers, they may not have access to training, or to technical support if something goes wrong. This will impact on their ability to make best use of the technology. Ways of providing effective and flexible community-based ICT training could usefully be explored.

151. To provide this training, there needs to be a large enough pool of people with ICT training and qualifications. There seems to be a shortage of such people, which has implications for industry training, and perhaps also immigration. It also seems likely that Maori, Pacific people and women are under-represented among those studying for ICT qualifications. Encouraging them to take such qualifications in greater numbers may be one way to provide more equal opportunities.

Attitudes

152. There is relatively little evidence about attitudes or motivations to use ICT. What evidence there is suggests that most people are not disadvantaged because of their attitudes towards, or motivations to use, ICT. However, there is some evidence that attitudes may be an important factor for some groups. The MSP standard of living survey found that around a quarter of people did not have Internet access, and did not want it. There were only slight gender differences, but quite significant ethnic and age differences (proportions of Maori, Pacific people and those aged 50-64 years that didn't have or want Internet access were 30.6%, 42.0% and 36.5% respectively). The survey did not explore the reasons for these results - they may reflect some or all of the following:
     • fear of or hostility towards the technology;

     • lack of interest in ICT;

     • preference for face-to-face interaction;

     • relative lack of priority placed on Internet access versus other things.

153. There are certainly implications for e-government (and perhaps also for e-commerce) if there is a sizeable proportion of the population that do not want to do business with government electronically. A strategy that doesn't take this into account is likely to exclude significant numbers of people, particularly Maori, Pacific people and older people. Further work is needed on whether these attitudes are amenable to change (e.g. through education or the provision of information on how using ICT can be beneficial), or represent strongly held preferences. So long as there remains a proportion of people who prefer not to engage with government agencies online, there will remain a need to provide services of an acceptable quality through alternative mechanisms.

Content

1. From the preceding sections, it is clear that we know a fair amount about the access and skills dimensions, and much less about the attitude and content dimensions. Nevertheless, even where we know quite a bit about dimensions and affected groups, further work is required to determine the significance of the problem, and the appropriate policy responses to these.

2. The descriptions above give the impression that a significant proportion of the population is on the wrong side of the digital divide. It is perhaps more useful to think of a continuum (rather than a simple binary categorisation), with those who are "well-connected" at one end, and those who are not currently touched in a significant way by ICT at the other end. The groups most likely to be at the disadvantaged end are those who experience multiple dimensions, such as rural Maori or low-income people with disabilities. These are the people that government should be most concerned about, if it wishes to equalise opportunities to participate in a knowledge society. The challenge is that these are also likely to be the people for whom the solution is most complex and expensive.

3. It is important to note that helping those people who are at the wrong end of the continuum is not simply about providing computers. The dimensions of access, skills, attitudes and content are linked, and the most disadvantaged are likely to be lacking in most if not all dimensions. Similarly, the most effective combination of policy responses is likely to be one that addresses all four dimensions. Indeed, it may be possible to address several dimensions with one intervention. As a hypothetical example, the provision of ICT access and training at a site that community members use often can address access and skills together. If this training made use of examples that were relevant to the people being trained, and encouraged them to create their own web pages, the attitude and content dimensions could also be addressed.

4. While the preceding sections have suggested some areas where government may want to focus its attention in order to close the digital divide, officials will be providing further advice on where best to focus Crown resources in the coming months. As is clear from the accompanying stocktake on what is already being done, there is a lot of activity already happening, and not all of it involves central government to any great extent. There may be some areas where solutions will occur naturally without government intervention, in which case government intervention will have an element of deadweight. Among other things, officials will consider the following issues in developing policy options:
   • the total cost of proposed initiatives;

   • what are the most significant barriers to optimal ICT usage?;

   • the potential of the policy to overcome significant barriers to ICT usage;

   • linkages to other issues (e.g. literacy) and policy responses;

   • the existence of synergies, such as using existing access sites like schools for other purposed, such as adult education; and

   • potential for the government to partner with local government, the private sector, the community sector, and Maori and Pacific groups, in delivering policy responses.