The ANZ arm of the global Smart Cities Council has shortlisted Brisbane, Adelaide, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast and Canterbury-Bankstown for its Leadership City award, the top prize in the inaugural Australian Smart Cities Awards, to be presented in partnership with Telstra and Deloitte.
Ten awards will be presented as part of Australia’s first Smart Cities Week from 29-31 October:
Leadership City
Research and Innovation
Digital City Services
Regional Leadership
Built Environment
Social Impact
Research and Innovation
Regional Leadership
Smart Cities Strategy
Smart Cities Leader – Government
Smart Cities Leader – Industry
Smart Cities Leader – Emerging
Smart Cities Awards jury chair, David Singleton said the awards would articulate how smart cities activities can enhance the liveability, workability and sustainability of cities.
The council detailed the Leadership city contenders’ achievements as follows.
Brisbane City Council
Free public WiFi, intelligent transport systems and digital literacy programs demonstrate Council’s commitment to technology, data and innovation. Council has invested $5 million to establish a start-up and innovation hub, has trained 3,500 school children in coding, released 130 datasets to help businesses and the community develop new customer experiences and solutions, and was the first city in Australia to implement a functional, large-scale Bluetooth monitoring system.
City of Adelaide
Ten Gigabit Adelaide connects businesses to high-speed, high-capability networks, increasing amenities and liveability, boosting jobs and living standards, and attracting the attention of international investors such as Elon Musk and Sanjeev Gupta. The City of Adelaide’s strategy is empowering the economy and aims to make Adelaide one of the most connected cities in the world.
City of Ipswich
The City of Ipswich is building a network for smart infrastructure and the Internet of Things. Using Australian-first technology, the City has built a 100 square kilometre IoT network that supports sensor-based data gathering, video analytics, remote asset management, safety and security. The City is also partnering with Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads to run Australia’s largest cooperative intelligent transport system program.
Sunshine Coast Council
Sunshine Coast Council has harnessed a host of technologies to create a more liveable city, including smart bins and water meters, parking and sensors to monitor wildlife and waterways. The Council’s Smart Region Management Platform receives data from sensors, street lights and WiFi access points to manage service delivery in real-time. Council’s Smart Centre has welcomed more than 2,500 visitors since opening in 2016.
City of Canterbury Bankstown
Facing significant challenges, including language barriers, socio-economics and local council amalgamations, City of Canterbury Bankstown worked with the CSIRO and the Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils to develop the Our Energy Future program for renters and investors. This free, energy advice service was designed to address obstacles to the uptake of renewable energy, connected with suppliers, and help residents reduce their power bills.
Ipswich earlier this year was listed as the winner of the administration category in IDC Asia Pacific’s ranking of the region’s smart cities.
IDC said: “The Ipswich Smart City program is a testimony for what public private partnerships can achieve. Their initiative goes beyond digital technologies, where they aspire to embrace new ways of working, learning and living as they work towards achieving their mission of being a truly connected community, full of ideas, energy and innovation.
“Under their Smart City Program, they have projects which include smart parking and transport, smart lighting and energy management, autonomous lawn mowing and automation, and so on.”
