A vision to leverage off Launceston’s history of innovation could see the establishment of a Cyber Security Hub in the city.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Alderman Darren Alexander lead discussion about the proposal at Monday's council meeting.
He said the City of Launceston should take advantage of the federal government's commitment to the Australian Cyber Security Growth Network.
“The establish of the growth centre is a key part of the Turnbull government’s $1.1 billion national innovation and science agenda for the Australian Cyber Security Strategy,” Ald Alexander said.
He said the government is set to allocate $31.9 million in funding for the growth of the centre until 2020, due to how vital the industry had become.
Ald Alexander told the council the funds would allow Australian business to grow their operations and Tasmania should take advantage of the opportunity.
The council unanimously agreed to work actively with the business, government, University and Australian Maritime College sectors to develop a formal submission to the federal government seeking the establishment of the Cyber Security Hub.
Ald Alexander said a visit to Launceston by the chief executive of the ACSGN, Craig Davis, included a round-table with more than 20 participants discussing the proposal.
He said support for the vision could see the establishment of a node of the ACSGN directly into Launceston City Deal arrangement with the federal government, as well as the various Smart City programs and potential projects being explored by the council.
While it is not yet clear exactly what the establishment of the hub would look like, Ald Alexander said it could initially operate as a virtual hub and could ultimately host a range of cybersecurity research and educational activities.
“The reason I asked for the Alderman to support this is because I genuinely believe three things will come out of it,” he said.
“One is the opportunity to showcase this sector in Tasmania, two is that I would really like to see an opportunity between the University of Tasmania, the AMC and our city to coordinate and work together after the relocation of the university.
“Thirdly, and probably the biggest opportunity, is for other businesses around Tasmania which could see Northern Tasmania as a place to relocate in order to be a part of it.”