Digital divide remediation: An Australian Indigenous community case study

Abstract

The digital divide is a key area of concern within the emerging field of social informatics, especially for ‘wired communities’ aspects of community informatics. In developed postcolonial nations such as Australia, its impact is strongest in Indigenous communities. E-government initiatives can widen the divide but can also facilitate Digital Divide Remediation (DDR). This paper reports on a case study in Roebourne, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, where the vast majority of the community are Indigenous Australians. The study examines how the community is trying to use government grants to access resources to establish a telecentre and associated infrastructure. The paper critiques the grants-based approach to addressing digital divide issues in this type of community for its lack of efficiency, effectiveness and equity, and proposes a Digital Divide Remediation Model (DDRM) as a way of facilitating more appropriate approaches