The new social policy and the digital age: a case study of a wired high rise public housing estate

The digital divide - the difference between those who have access to electronic information and those who do not - is widening, and the authors consider that lack of access to this information is causing serious social deprivation to certain disadvantaged groups. The authors describe the planning and setting up of Reach for the Clouds (RFTC), a public / private partnership providing computer hardware and internet access to tenants of public housing estates in Victoria. They point out the significance of RFTC, firstly as an example of how community participation can influence policy direction and government service delivery, and secondly because of its community empowerment focus.