Commercial Disco
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Johanna Weaver, Tech Policy Design Institute co-founder and CEO

Posted on   |  with James Riley   |  Commercial Disco   |  26 mins
Can Australia play an outsized role in the global regulation of Big Tech? Do we have the middle-power muscle to bring together a coalition of countries that would have the combined heft to push back on tech overreach? Tech Policy Design Institute co-founder and CEO Johanna Weaver digs deep into the global political and technological forces shaping the world right now.
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NewsWrap Friday 12 September 2025

Posted on   |  with James Riley   |  Commercial Disco   |  13 mins
In this episode of NewsWrap, InnovationAus editor Justin Hendry explores the $US$1 billion PsiQuantum Series E capital raise and looks at how the Australian and Queensland governments' US$250 million fits in.
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NewsWrap Friday 5 September 2025

Posted on   |  with James Riley   |  Commercial Disco   |  13 mins
In this episode of NewsWrap, InnovationAus senior reporter Joseph Brookes and James Riley dive into the latest issues papers published by the Robyn Denholm-led Strategic Examination of R&D.
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NewsWrap Friday 29 August 2025

Posted on   |  with James Riley   |  Commercial Disco   |  12 mins
The Strategic Review of R&D (SERD) has published its first issues paper as part of its consultation process - this one looking at national coordination and governance of R&D spending. And the Tech Council gets itself out of step with other groups with a call to boost R&D spending target to just 2 per cent.
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Dr Stephen King – Commissioner, Productivity Commission

Posted on   |  with James Riley   |  Commercial Disco   |  15 mins
The Productivity Commission sets out in detail the massive upside for Australia in introducing AI tools across the economy. But it also warns that the government financial support for building Australian large language models (LLMs) or the AI factories that train them is a terrible idea. In this episode of the Commercial Disco podcast, Productivity Commissioner Stephen King says simply that government is “a terrible entrepreneur”.
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Building a workforce ready for the future

Posted on   |  with Corrie McLeod   |  comm   |  27 mins
In this episode of The Commercial Disco, chief executives of the Future Skills Organisation, Patrick Kidd, and the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers, Amanda Linton, warn of a 250,000-worker shortfall across finance, tech, and business by 2030. Kidd highlights the 70 per cent gap of current skills will change in just three years, while Linton stresses that AI is enhancing, not replacing, professions like bookkeeping, with employers now prioritising communication and critical thinking alongside technical skills.
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NewsWrap Friday 15 August 2025

Posted on   |  with James Riley   |  Commercial Disco   |  12 mins
When former Cabinet minister Ed Husic announced in March that government had accepted all the recommendations of its STEM Diversity review, it came as a surprise to many – including his government colleagues. The announcement was made before the policy had been agreed. Join Justin Hendry and James Riley for the week's biggest stories.
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Professor Tanya Monro, Chief Defence Scientist and InnovationAus Awards Co-Patron

Posted on   |  with James Riley   |  Commercial Disco   |  17 mins
Professor Tanya Monro is six and half years into her role as Chief Defence Scientist and says the urgency of the work within the Defence Science and Technology Group is the biggest change over that time. In this interview, Professor Monro talks about the evolving structure of Defence’s technology and innovation infrastructure and gives a practical tutorial on the best ways that entrepreneurs and SMEs with specific technology can engage.
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NewsWrap Friday 8 August 2025

Posted on   |  with James Riley   |  Commercial Disco   |  9 mins
Copyright has become a central issue in the national debate about driving productivity improvements, and on extracting the maximum value from AI The Productivity Commission had its say this week in the first interim report of its Five Pillars review. Justin Hendry and James Riley discuss the week.
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