Australia got its first National Semiconductor Roadmap this week courtesy of SB3, the Semiconductor Sector Service Bureau and launched by local tech hero David Skellern.
InnovationAus editor Justin Hendry was at the launch, and in this edition of the NewsWrap podcast provides some insight into that roadmap.
The semiconductor industry in Australia is way bigger than you might think. And there is more to the industry silicon fabs: but that doesn’t mean manufacturing should be off the table.
The Australian semiconductor industry is home to some of Australia’s most promising deep tech startups. There is enough here to build on – and has been brought together by a small but determined band of engineers, entrepreneurs and dreamers.
Also in this episode, we trawl through three days of hearings for the Joint Select Committee on AI, including the awkward exchange that AI luminary Professor Toby Walsh got himself into.
At least one member of the committee, deputy chair senator Jonathan Duniam, seemed a bit peeved about an OpEd professor Walsh had written (accusing the committee of asking soft-ball questions of OpenAI.
Data centres were in the news this week (when are they not right now?), in particular some wash-up from the Firmus IPO non-starter and the NextDC shareprice hit.
The Australian government has sent a final bid to the European Space Agency in support of astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg’s quest to get on one of the final missions to the International Space Station – which if successful could happen as early as 2028.
It’s a big ask. Private donors are understood to have put up about $6 million to support the quest. But the total price tag is understood to be $100 million-plus. We hope it happens!
Shadow minister for Industry and Sovereign Capability Andrew Hastie delivered a headland speech that outlined the opposition’s thinking on industry policy – and its more interventionist than you might expect.
Speaking at a Centre for Independent Studies conference, Mr Hastie said the free market is optimal – but the potential for geo-political conflict and supply chain risk meant that targeted industry development was a priority.
And finally, Acton Institute founder and author Dr John Howard says multiple reviews over the past couple of decades say that Australia is very good at diagnosing its industry problems.
But fixing those problems has been a whole different story.
Stories we have been watching:
Pocock floats 5pc data centre levy, ‘patriotic’ procurement
Toby Walsh bruises some egos at AI committee hearing
The $20bn semiconductor choice facing policymakers
Govt sends final bid for Bennell-Pegg space mission
High-risk jobs and base-layer protection: A startup story
Andrew Hastie on building strategic industry capability
We can diagnose a broken innovation system. But can we fix it?
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.