1. Introduction

1.1 How to read the matrix
1.2 You are invited to contribute
1.3 The editing process
1.4 To submit your proposals

This policy matrix is a collection of proposals to improve Australian communications. It presents reform suggestions from communications players and individuals. This early version contains about 60 proposals, but the number is growing rapidly. Our aims are to:
-    Stimulate the digital economy with forward-looking proposals, focused on the years beyond 2010;
-    Present a wide range of options on any issue, not just the conventional wisdom;
-    Throw off the political and regulatory baggage of the last 20 years;
-    Present reform proposals in a consistent matrix, where they are easy to find and compare;
-    Ensure that all interests can have their proposals included, without having to wait for any official invitation; and
-    Empower communications players and citizens to decide their future, instead of waiting for somebody in authority to prescribe it for them.

This matrix is also to help leaders make definite decisions about policy. Now is a good time to hammer out new policies and strategies. The media, the Internet, telecommunications and broadcasting have vast potential to improve Australian society, its economy and environment. Much of the potential has been wasted over the last 20 years.

Ideas from around 1990 still dominate official thinking, regardless of whether they are relevant to the information economy. Australia has lost its reputation as a communications leader. With a few exceptions, we are now followers in the audiovisual and communications sectors. Many of the best industry and community leaders have been bogged down in the political and regulatory morass.

This collection is called a policy ‘matrix’ because it is a seed-bed of future changes. The word is derived from the Latin ‘mater’ meaning mother. That indicates exactly what this is: a growing medium for new vitality in communications. You are very welcome to contribute.

1.1 How to read the matrix

You can read this matrix online at the Network Insight Institute website: http://www.networkinsight.org. It is also downloadable from the site in PDF format. Both the online version and the PDF are regularly updated as more proposals come in.

On each issue, we try to make the policy choices clear and definite. We do not pick winning solutions, or even rank solutions. To get the process started, we have included some proposals from earlier years which were already on the record from public reports and documents.

Each proposal is a separate item. You may find it more effective to target the headings which are of most interest to you, or just to browse rather than reading sequentially. There is no need to read the matrix from beginning to end.
The headings and table of contents are continuously revised to fit the material. They are not intended to set the agenda, or to provide a framework for legislation. Their purpose is to provide a consistent fabric to organise the proposal people submit. Please do not be concerned if there is no existing heading which fits a proposal. If necessary, we can change headings to suit your material.

The matrix aims to get beyond broad themes and directions, into concrete policy decisions and changes. To help that focus, the matrix asks people to focus, where possible, on decisions which need to be made before a new, convergent Communications Act can be drafted. It is about the policy decisions which would be needed, not about the words or structure of an Act itself. The matrix also welcomes policy proposals unrelated to the laws in areas such as investment, export, industry co-operation, training, creative industries and culture.

1.2 You are invited to contribute

You are welcome to submit proposals; as many proposals as you wish. We would prefer that you keep each proposal to a length of one or two pages. The essence of any proposal is to set out the case for doing something better, and to explain what the change would be. The proposals already in the matrix give some examples. They will reassure you that there is no set agenda about form or style. Also, there is no need to worry about where your proposal should be placed, as we can work that out when we have read it.

If you are involved in communications policy or strategy, you probably have some proposals which should go into the matrix; although they were written for another purpose. Examples include:
-    Parts of a thoughtful submission to an official inquiry, which was ignored in the final report.
-    A proposal prepared by management, but considered too radical to publish under the company’s name.
-    Material which is already on the public record, but has received insufficient attention. If necessary, we can publish the substance rather than the text, to avoid copyright issues.
-    Material prepared for a speech or presentation, where there was time for only a few highlights to be offered on the day.

For many people, the barrier to preparing a proposal is that they try too hard. To our surprise, people think that the suggestions they already have are not good enough, and that they need to be turned into something like a journal article or a school essay. In fact, the opposite is true. The ideal proposal talks about a single issue, of which the author has close experience. There is no need to offer an introduction or context for your proposal, or a world view of the communications sector. You can plunge into the substance of it from the first sentence onwards.

If you already have a comprehensive document advocating a number of changes, it is best to split it into several proposals, which can each be compared with other people’s proposals on the same topic. Readers will be expecting to see an argument in favour of doing something differently, in terms clear enough to show what would be abolished, changed or started.

In the text of your proposal, you are welcome to include web links to sources or related material. They will appear at hotlinks in the published version. Also, there is a section on our website called Resources. That is place for documents which provide background or longer material related to your proposal. It is also a place for longer or more general observations on the state of communications, and for arguments that a whole new direction is needed.

If your submission is in an existing document and you don’t have time to rearrange it, then just send the whole document to us with the relevant parts flagged. We shall edit the sections to fit into the matrix, and send the edited drafts back to you for approval before including it.

1.3 The editing process

Our aim is to assemble the many, varied and competing proposals in the way which makes them easiest to compare. Here are some basic principles about how your proposal will be treated.
-    Proposals may need to be shortened, edited or formatted by the Institute to make them comparable with others, but we shall avoid changing the substance
-    We shall give you the opportunity to see, and if necessary change, the edited version of your proposal before it is published in the matrix.
-    The index, headings and structure of the matrix will be frequently revised, to accommodate the latest material submitted.
-    Proposals can be anonymous, and we can arrange a high level of confidentiality if needed.

1.4 To submit your proposals

Just email your text to our Manager, Cristina Abad: c.abad@networkinsight.org, or phone 02 9230 4262 if you would like to ask questions.

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