Toespraak van minister Henk Kamp bij de 'Smart Cities Summit' in Sydney

Toespraak | 03-11-2016

Mrs. Turnbull,

 

Honorable Senator,

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

Last night I was treated to a performance by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the iconic Sydney Opera House. It was a wonderful start to my visit to Australia with a trade delegation of more than 95 businesses. Afterwards, at a reception, I spoke to Australian entrepreneurs and I was struck by their dynamism. They are not only ambitious like their Dutch colleagues, but also keen on solving the social challenges defining our era.  

 

Many of these revolve around cities. Cities are hubs of innovation, trade, and creativity and home to half the world’s population. Which is why they are integral to any solution to issues like population growth, migration, climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals. Cities, in other words, are the cornerstone of modern life and our hope of a better future.

 

Cities need to evolve if they are to secure this better future for us and the generations that follow. They need to become safer, more energy efficient, more accessible and more connected. And they need to embrace innovations like the circular economy, urban farming, the sharing economy, and open data.

 

Smart cities are certainly key to Australia’s future. By 2050, your population will increase by 60 per cent to reach 35 million. Most people will live in your cities, with Sydney and Melbourne home to 7 million each. It will be a challenge to ensure affordable housing, sustainable building and good transport infrastructure.

 

Another challenge is to align urban planning and funding at state and local levels. This requires high degrees of co-operation, which is why the Australian government launched its Smart Cities Plan in April this year and why the Netherlands is developing a national smart city strategy of its own. More than 100 companies, all our universities and our 10 largest cities are working together with five of our ministries to develop this strategy. It’s a complicated process, but a necessary one to make the right choices for our future.

 

This complexity also means that cities need to work together internationally. That is why in the Netherlands we’re involved with the Global Smart City and Community Coalition. This not-for-profit platform shares best practices and real solutions among cities in the Netherlands, the US, Indonesia, and Italy. 

 

And just like in the Netherlands, Australia’s cities lie in flood-prone areas vulnerable to climate change. But smart cities are not only protected from their environment, they also function in harmony with their surroundings. This Dutch approach, called 'building with nature', has made Mother Nature our closest ally.

 

Dutch smart city expertise, however, extends far beyond water. In 2016, Amsterdam was awarded the European Capital of Innovation award for its work on open data, blockchain, the internet of things and artificial intelligence. Eindhoven, whose High Tech Campus is the country’s smartest square kilometer, is pioneering technology that adapts to people instead of the other way round. And The Hague is Europe’s security capital with more than 400 organisations involved into cyber security. 

 

Cyber security is indispensable to smart cities. Utilities, IT infrastructure, electric grids, and financial services are vulnerable to digital attacks and we need to protect them. This is one area in which our countries could co-operate. Dutch cyber security companies operating globally include Security Matters, Fox IT, which works with the FBI on internet crime, and HackerOne, which uses ethical hacking.

 

Another area that we are focusing on is electric driving and autonomous vehicles, trends that will shape the future of transport and logistics. We expect 1 million electric vehicles on our roads by 2025 and we’re beginning to build an industry around them. Dutch companies are active in solar car research, charging infrastructures, parts manufacturing and the production of electric vehicles. One such company is NXP Semiconductors, which is developing the car-to-infrastructure communication technology needed for autonomous driving.

 

The government is also investing in intelligent transport systems with Dutch IT giants like TomTom and NXP. I see a similar development in Australia. The Path Forward for Electric Vehicles in Australia is an industry initiative that explores the role of EVs in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving air quality and improving energy productivity.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

Australia and the Netherlands are home to beautiful and dynamic cities. Their ability to evolve is key to both our futures.  Looking at our mutual challenges and our respective expertise in these areas, I strongly believe that Australia and the Netherlands should be smart city partners. We both have cutting-edge R&D, excellent start-up ecosystems and strong investment climates. And we both know that the best smart city solutions arise when governments, knowledge institutions and the private sector work together. I am confident this Smart City Summit will spark new initiatives that will benefit all of us. So good luck to you and have a good day. Thank you.