Comment by Peter Roberts A former South Australian Liberal party leader who later became a minister in the state Labor government has called for the establishment of a national shipbuilding authority to guide naval ship construction. Martin Hamilton-Smith’s political history is indeed as complex as the task now facing Australia to build and then sustain…
Tasmanian mining equipment manufacturer Elphinstone has made a remarkable comeback as an OEM manufacturer to the global Caterpillar group. The Burnie company, which employs 2,500, first shot to prominence when it modified Caterpillar surface equipment to operate underground. Eventually it grew into a 50: 50 joint venture with Caterpillar, designing and making underground load, haul,…
We all love to love Australia’s successful value-adding wine making industry, but it seems all is not bliss on the nation’s vineyards. A report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission just released warns of power imbalances in the grape supply chain being exploited by some wine makers. The ACCC looked at competition, contracting practices,…
By Stuart Corner of IoT Australia GSMA Global mobile industry body, GSMA says its APAC IoT partnership programme has doubled in size in less than a year, to more than thirty mobile operators, making it the largest cross-regional IoT community in the world. The programme, launched in October 2018, brings operators, developers, manufacturers and system…
Biotechnology giant CSL (ASX: CSL) is set to expand its portfolio of vaccines with a company-backed start up raising $14 million in capital, mostly from a federal government fund. Denteric Pty Ltd raised the cash from Canberra’s Biomedical Translation Fund (BTF) and private investors to develop a vaccine against dental caries. The vaccine, which will…
Wind power giant Vestas has begun assembling drive trains and hubs for its wind turbines at a new factory in the former Ford stamping plant at Geelong, Victoria. This follows the opening of the Vestas Renewable Energy Hub (VREH) by state premier Daniel Andrews and energy minister, Lily D’Ambrosio. This is reportedly the first-time wind…
Artificial bone 3D printing company Osteopore (ASX: OSX) burst onto the stock market this week, its shares rising rising four times in price on debut. The company’s shares rose a further 10 cents in its second day of trading. The Perth and Singaporean company, which prints bone scaffold implants designed to fit individual patients, raised…
Comment by Peter Roberts It has been difficult for many years to say anything too positive about our federal industry ministers. How could I? With six serving in the position in a similar number of years none have been round long enough to make an impression. But these pictures of industry minister Karen Andrews visiting…
New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra (ASX: FSF) has offloaded its shareholding in pharmaceutical supplier DPE Pharma as it reorganises its businesses to cut debt. The company sold its 50 per cent shareholding in the international suppliier of dry inhalation powders for $589 million (NZD$633 million), ending its association with milk-based pharmaceuticals. The purchaser was capital…
New figures from Bloomberg new energy finance show the continuing fall in the cost of solar and wind generated electricity, which is now the cheapest form of power in two thirds of the world. Their report, New Energy Outlook 2019, shows that price is driving a shift in global energy mix, with solar and wind…
