The Omnibus Bill As Australia’s government prepares to cut spending in order to repair the budget the Omnibus bill has been proposed, including in it a $1 billion cut to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) which will effectively eliminate the agency. Without ARENA funding R&D, renewable energy research will grind to a halt as the policies and cuts being proposed have the potential to set the country back roughly 30 years. The World is Taking Notes For many […]
During the 2016 Australian Financial Review innovation summit this past week, Dr. Alan Finkel Australia’s chief scientist, spoke to the imbalance of government spending on innovation. Business Insider quoted Dr. Finkel saying, “If science turns money into knowledge – then innovation turns knowledge back into money, and generally a lot more money than the taxpayers put in.” While referring to the potential gains of innovation investment from the government, the Doctor proceeded to share a shocking statistic that industry leaders […]
Customarily, when people consider innovation they often concentrate on the end product – i.e. the app, the software or the piece of hardware. However, they generally dismiss the steps beforehand that are essential in developing the aforementioned innovative artefact. In particular, policies can play a large part in the innovation process. In relation to this, there have been significant announcements regarding innovation policies of late. On Tuesday night, the 2016-17 Federal Budget was released, which notably proposed changes to lower […]
Innovation has become progressively debated in public discourse of late, leading to a significant focus on the R&D Tax Incentive in the last 12 months. This week, however, a positive development was made that will no doubt be welcomed by the innovation ecosystem in Australia. To clarify, a proposed 1.5% cut to the R&D Tax Incentive under the Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2015 Measures No. 3) Bill 2015 will not ensue – the Bill before the senate has lapsed and […]