The federal government has issued an Australian Innovation Statistics (AIS) dashboard showing, according to the headline on the government’s media release, ‘Govt R&D up, overall R&D needs uplift’. The problem with this convenient analysis is that it belies the reality established in @AuManufacturing’s editorial series – Towards 3% R&D – of a national innovation effort…
The federal and state governments have announced $20 million for a new TAFE Queensland Centre of Excellence – Clean Energy (Batteries), to be a state-wide initiative coordinated through TAFE Queensland SkillsTech. According to a joint statement on Tuesday, the centre will operate across the TAFE network and deliver training in “emerging battery technologies and support…
The federal government has issued a Proposals Paper for Introducing Mandatory Guardrails for AI in High-Risk Settings responding to business calls to clarity on AI regulation The proposals paper canvasses a proposed definition of high-risk AI, ten proposed mandatory guardrails and regulatory options to mandate these guardrails. The three regulatory approaches could be: Adopting the…
The Albanese government has unveiled a new Green Metals Advisory Panel to help the country’s metal manufacturers grow and decarbonise.
Industry minister Ed Husic has announced an extra $3.8 million over the next seven years for Superstars of STEM, which will see the program run by peak body Science & Technology Australia (STA) train 120 more participants up to 2030. The program has run since 2017 and coaches women and non-binary scientists, technologists, engineers and…
What were the five biggest stories of the week? Here’s what visitors to @AuManufacturing were reading. 5) Ghost Shark autonomous submarine to be manufactured in Sydney The federal government has delivered on its promise of more rapid defence decision making, accelerating the manufacture of the Ghost Shark underwater autonomous vehicle for undersea surveillance, reconnaissance and strike at…
CSIRO staff have called for Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic’s intervention to head off the destruction of more than 700 jobs in CSIRO. In an open letter to Husic the CSIRO Staff Association said: “Our national science agency is under attack from within. “CSIRO’s core purpose and the ability of its staff to deliver…
Australia’s newly minted Assistant Minister for a Future Made in Australia Tim Ayres believes opportunities such as the revitalisation of manufacturing come around rarely. Today is one of those opportunities he argues in this excerpt from his address to the National Manufacturing Summit. As the Prime Minister said back in April – we need to…
Pfizer Australia has announced a major upgrade to its manufacturing facility in Melbourne to boost production of pharmaceuticals aiming to help address rising levels of antimicrobial resistance. Pfizer has invested $150 million to develop advanced pharmaceutical production facilities for new antimicrobial treatments tackling what is one of the biggest threats to global health. The Victorian…
When the federal government came to office it promised a timetable for announcing which competing group of businesses and research institutions would be funded to perform R&D under the hugely successful Cooperative Research Centres scheme. Bids cost big dollars to put together, says Dr Tony Peacock, with business now dismayed that the latest deadline for…