THE Gillard government is planning to enlist a clutch of high-profile Australians, including the conservationist Tim Flannery and the retired High Court judge Michael Kirby, to publicise the $36 billion national broadband network.

The 12 people, called ''NBN champions'' and with diverse backgrounds - from business, science, academia and environmentalism - have been approached in an attempt to highlight the broad potential of the network.

Also included on the shortlist are: a co-founder of the environmental group Planet Ark, Jon Dee; the executive director of development at the CSIRO, James Bradfield Moody; the managing director of the Australian Telecommunications Users Group, Rosemary Sinclair; and the technology expert and ''Gadget Guy'' Peter Blasina.

The NBN champions come amid a broader push to explain the potential of the network being developed within the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.

''The department is seeking to partner with prominent Australians who are experts in their field to help households and businesses to better understand how they can benefit from high-speed broadband,'' a spokeswoman for the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, said.