Politics with Michelle Grattan
News:Politics
Innovation has been a buzzword of Malcolm Turnbull’s government, but the public reception of this message has been less than enthusiastic.
Innovation and Science Australia chair Bill Ferris launched a report this week setting out a plan over five key areas – education, industry, how government can be a catalyst for change, research and development, and culture and ambition – that seeks to put Australia into the top tier of innovation nations by 2030.
Ministerially, the innovation area has had much churn, with five ministers since Turnbull became prime minister. Ferris acknowledges this has meant losing some continuity but is pleased with the dramatic increase in venture capital supply under initiatives that have been launched.
Education, he says, is key to the blueprint – it’s a complex area requiring “a cocktail of things” to be tackled. This includes a change in the way that industry supports schools, and an urgent review of the VET sector, which has suffered from educational snobbery.
In industry policy, Ferris says there is a pressing need to rebalance business incentives to use more direct incentives to ensure Australia is competitive. He also says the government’s announcement to increase defence exports should focus on innovative products.
The blueprint also includes proposals to improve the commercialisation of research, a quest of successive governments.
Then there is the matter of moonshots – big ideas that would make Australia stand out – such as promoting genomics and precision medicine to help make “Australia the healthiest nation on Earth”.
a budget for a pandemic
Chris Richardson on what Tuesday’s budget will and should do
New Zealand’s Helen Clark on the pandemic inquiry and avoiding election ‘cat fights
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Angus Taylor on the 'gas-fired' recovery
Jodie McVernon on Melbourne’s modelling, a Covid vaccine, and the role of experts in a crisis
Chris Bowen on the recession, aged care and priorities for health policy
Former Greens leader Richard Di Natale on COVID, climate and his successor
Professor Barney Glover on the bleak years ahead for higher education
Jim Chalmers on tax cuts, inequality, and the Queensland election
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells on aged care – what needs to be done differently
Patricia Sparrow on the need for aged care reform
Geoff Kitney on a life in journalism and the contemporary media landscape
After the crisis: what lessons can be drawn from the management of COVID-19 for the recovery process?
Jane Halton on the risk of 'vaccine nationalism'
Christopher Pyne on being 'the ultimate insider'
two leading economists on Australia’s post-COVID economy
Politics with Michelle Grattan: The Battle for Eden-Monaro – interviews with Kristy McBain and Fiona Kotvojs
Clive Hamilton and Richard McGregor on Australia-China relations
Trust, democracy and COVID-19: A British perspective
Pat Turner on Closing the Justice Gap
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free