The federal government published on Friday its response to the inquiry into 5G by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts, and of the 14 recommendations made, it only wholeheartedly supported six of them.
Cast into the pile of recommendations labelled as "noted" were the big ticket recommendations[1], such as conducting a review of current laws to enforce network and data security in the 5G supply chain; reviewing tertiary curricula to prepare university and TAFE graduates to be "industry-ready" in terms of 5G; that the government look into ways to manufacture 5G equipment in Australia; and that the government increase the number of apprenticeships to assist with the deployment of 5G.
On the agency front, the government noted recommendations that Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) should have a mechanism to consult with the community on safe electromagnetic emissions levels, and that the Department of Communications should look into the powers, timelines, and immunities under existing complaint arrangements as the committee said it foresaw a bevy of complaints with 5G rolling out.
In its response, the government said Australian telcos already have 5G equipment supply contracts and that making equipment locally was "not a priority for their rollouts", before gesturing in the direction of its AU$1.5 billion manufacturing revitalisation package[2] as a way to encourage related research.
"The Australian government should establish a 5G R&D Innovation Fund to fast track the development and scale-up of alternative manufacturing approaches to reduce the duopoly dependency on 5G related equipment," the report originally recommended.
On the supply chain security recommendation, the report said it was evident that 5G would have fundamental implications for all Australians and the security of critical infrastructure.