Now that New South Wales has won the right to host the headquarters for the governments new National Broadband Network, I have a radical idea.
Instead of putting it in Sydney, hows about we put it in Wollongong?
I know, why would you put the headquarters of the nations most important communications company in a town with barely 200000 people in it. Let's have a look a few of the reasons why shall we?
- Location: Wollongong and the Illawarra is pretty close to Sydney itself, and yet remains close to farm and bush land, which makes it an attractive lifestyle choice.
- Local Industry: There is a small but growing IT industry in Wollongong itself. The addition of the NBN headquarters would bring an impetus to the growth of this industry that is badly needed in an area to is trying to diversify.
- Population Growth: The Illawarra is growing at a rapid pace which means there would be an excellent local pool for employment.
- Costs: The cost of doing business in the Illawarra is lower than for Sydney. Especially if the NBN headquarters "eats its own food" and becomes a beacon for High Speed Broadband Application use.
- Jobs: To be quite frank, the Illawarra is suffering a bit more than other areas with regards to unemployment. An employer such as the NBN would not only provide jobs for locals, but would create a flow of new business opportunities that would allow for the creation of even more jobs.
I have long held a belief in decentralisation, especially with regards to the positive effects on the regional centres that this brings. Locating the NBN headquarters outside of Sydney makes sense on many levels, and this government, a government I hasten to add that has sold itself on being innovative and bleeding edge with regards to tech (leaving out the whole filtering business), should be mindful of these benefits.