Australian and NZ Internet Awards winners named

The 2011 Australian and New Zealand Internet Award winners have been announced with DTS the only New Zealand winner.

Several New Zealand companies received Highly Commended awards, but internet service provider DTS was the only winner, in the IPv6 category.

The awards are a collaboration between InternetNZ and auDA (the .au Domain Association).  This was the third year the awards, which celebrate exceptional contributions to the development and use of the Internet in Australia and New Zealand.

The awards can go to businesses, organisations or individuals and are judged by an independent panel of experts from both countries, InternetNZ said. 

InternetNZ communications lead Campbell Gardiner said individuals, academic institutions and other non-profit initiatives could receive the prize money, $AUD2500, directly, but companies and for-profit initiatives had to donate it to a registered charity.

DTS announced on Twitter that its prize would be donated to The Malaghan Institute who look for a cure for MS and cancer.

The breakdown
There were six categories: information, diversity, IPv6, security and privacy, internet access and digital skills, and innovation.

The IPv6 category was about recognising initiatives that facilitate or promote the uptake of IPv6 in Australia or New Zealand, Mr Gardiner said.

The Innovation category was about recognising initiatives that make a significant contribution to the Internet through a new and unique venture, he said.

The New Zealand winners included the Deaf Studies Research Unit at Victoria University of Wellington, who received a Highly Commended in the diversity category, Aura RedEye Security, who received a Highly Commended in the Security and Privacy category.

The innovation category was dominated by Kiwi entries, with the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs, Beek and PaperKut Paperless Receipts all receiving Highly Commended.

The category had no winner, InternetNZ chief executive Vikram Kumar said, as the judges had set a very high bar which none of the entries had achieved.

The Innovation category was about recognising initiatives that make a significant contribution to the Internet through a new and unique venture, Mr Gardiner said.

Better name this year
Mr Kumar said this year’s awards attracted twice the number of awards as in 2010, when the awards were called the Internet Industry Awards.  Mr Kumar said the growth in entries, which were about six to eight in each category, was partly due to the awards becoming a calendar fixture and partly due to the revamp process they had been through.

This involved changing the name to this year's better version and growing InternetNZ’s role, looking at the categories and making sure they were sensible and reflected their purpose, Mr Kumar said. 

He said there was one Kiwi and one Australian judge in each category, so the winners were judged on merit. 

“We’re much more equal partners in the awards than we’ve ever been.”

Mr Kumar said the results showed that while New Zealand had done proportionally well, Australia had some good entries and that both countries wanted to be the best across the Tasman. 

AuDA chief executive Chris Disspain said the awards honoured innovators who set new standards for making the Internet more inclusive, accessible and safe.

"In a highly competitive online environment, these initiatives have developed creative and effective ways to reach customers, deliver services and enhance the online experience of Australians and New Zealanders.”

Raw Data:

Information:

Winner: Australian Lions Drug Awareness Foundation “Tune In Not Out”

Highly Commended: The Courier newspaper - Ballarat

Diversity:

Winner: Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Highly Commended: Victoria University of Wellington, Deaf Studies Research Unit

IPv6:

Winner: DTS Ltd

Highly Commended: Internode

Security and Privacy:

Winner: Telstra

Highly Commended: Aura RedEye Security

Internet Access and Digital Skills:

Winner: Cisco Academy for the Vision Impaired

Highly Commended: Infoxchange

Innovation:

Highly Commended: NZ Department of Internal Affairs; Beek; PaperKut Paperless Receipts.

Criteria:

The main benefits of the product, project or initiative to it stakeholders or the wider users of the Internet
The projects' objectives and measured success in meeting its goals
How the initiative delivered an innovative solution to the issue it was developed to address.
How the initiative, or its ideas, could assist with the development of the Internet in an International context