US President Donald Trump has flagged a possible 200 per cent tariff on pharmaceuticals and a 50 per cent tariff on copper, as the ABC reports, with potential significant implications for Australian manufacturers. Speaking to media before a cabinet meeting, Trump said pharmaceutical producers would receive a grace period to move production to the United…
By Melita Jazbec, University of Technology Sydney; Monique Retamal, University of Technology Sydney; Nick Florin, University of Technology Sydney, and Stuart White, University of Technology Sydney Australians largely support transforming the economy to increase recycling, repurpose products and reduce waste, according to a new report from the Productivity Commission, but they are being impeded by…
The federal government has announced a strategic examination of R&D, the latest in a series of inquiries into Australia’s faltering innovation system. Here Mark Dodgson looks at why previous reviews have failed to have real impact. The history of reviews of research and innovation in Australia[1] follows a predictable and disheartening cycle. It starts with…
By Peter Roberts That federal government’s economic adviser the Productivity Commission has a new spring in its step and new targets of its quest for an economically pure Australia – defence procurement policies and local content rules more generally, especially those applied by the states. The PC’s 50th Trade and Assistance Review (TAR) just released…
By Peter Roberts The Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic has made an impassioned commitment to words all too often forgotten in recent years – value adding and fostering Australian ingenuity. In a speech to the Australian Space Forum Husic said a Future Made in Australia would be defined by resilience, prosperity, and unwavering…
While issues such as quantum computing attract political action, Australia is losing the sovereign ability to manufacture even basic products such as plastics and downstream products such as paint. According to Shane West, the closure of plastic raw material production by Qenos requires government intervention. How to respond to the loss of Qenos – Australia…
Channel Nine media has revealed that a group of 70 economists from the nation’s most important universities support the recently announced Future Made in Australia policy. The exclusive story by well respected journalist Shane Wright in the SMH newspaper also puts a rocket up the Productivity Commission which has continued its long standing antipathy to…
Today in our editorial series – Towards 3% R&D – Turbocharging Australia’s Innovation Effort – Elliot Duff identifies the issue as a lack of capability in diffusing knowledge through the economy to its grass roots. Knowledge Diffusion in Australia While doubling R&D spending to 3% will help turbo-charge the Australian innovation system, it is essential…
Today in our editorial series – Towards 3% R&D – Turbocharging Australia’s Innovation Effort – Serena Ross contrasts innovation to be new to the world, and continuous improvement – the lifeblood of her company, Circuitwise Electronics. Australia’s innovation effort can be improved by a greater focus on ‘ordinary’ innovation. In contrast to deep-tech or R&D-focused…
Today in our editorial series – Towards 3% R&D – Turbocharging Australia’s Innovation Effort – we turn to the role of national industry policy. Here Roy Green points to innovation and the success of a Future Made in Australia as intertwined. While lacking detail at this stage, the significance of Prime Minister Albanese’s Future Made…