The Australian Computer Society (ACS) is sponsoring an ICT Forum at the Australian Labor Party's national conference in Sydney tomorrow.
The forum of 25 CEOs from local and multinational IT companies will debate ways to reduce Australia's burgeoning ICT trade deficit and ways to improve the local IT sector.
Topics to be covered in the debate include offshore outsourcing, access by local companies to the domestic market including federal government contracts, IT employment opportunities and the impact of Free Trade Agreements and US policies such as the "Buy America Act".
ICT author, Professor John Houghton will give a presentation that will be open to the public.
Labor's IT spokesperson Senator Kate Lundy said all of the issues open for debate at the forum have an impact on the size of the ICT trade deficit which is a symptom of Australia's poor IT performance.
"We should be exporting more, commensurate with our educated workforce, technology prowess, world-class research capability and nascent entrepreneurial vigour," Lundy said.