InnovationAus.com will host Election 2016’s first ministerial debate on innovation and digital transformation in collaboration with the sector’s most important industry groups next Thursday at the University of Technology, Sydney in the heart of Australia’s digital entrepreneur homeland.
The debate between the Prime Minister’s point man on Cities and Digital Transformation Angus Taylor and Labor’s digital innovation and startups spokesman Ed Husic comes as the election campaign enters its final stages and the industry seeks clarification on key policy areas.
UTS Vice-Chancellor Attila Brungs will build context and perspective ahead of the debate with a presentation on the innovation challenges and opportunities in Australia, and the current state of the nation’s innovation ecosystems.
Professor Brungs has also opened the doors the UTS Business School’s fabulous Frank Gehry-designed Dr Chau Chak Wing Building as the venue for this special innovation and entrepreneurship event.
The participating industry groups are:
- Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA)
- Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA)
- Australian Services Roundtable (ASR)
- Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association Limited (AVCAL)
- Communications Alliance
- FinTech Australia
- Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA)
- StartupAUS
- TechSydney
- The Start Society
The group represents the full suite of digital technology sector interests, from startups to multinationals, from hardware to services to capital, from FinTech to games developers and publishers.
There has been a growing appetite from the industry for policy detail from both major parties. As we enter the final weeks of the election campaign, it’s fair to say the industry is now voracious.
There are no policy areas that are off-limits in this debate. Each industry group has the opportunity to ask questions of the candidates during a moderated component of the debate, which will also feature free-form questions from the audience.
“It’s a really exciting opportunity and a privilege for InnovationAus.com to host this debate,” said Hello Espresso CEO and InnovationAus.com Publisher Corrie McLeod.
“The InnovationAus.com team has built a reputation for insightful, high-quality commentary and positive discussion. To now help bring together a forum with these industry groups is an honour.”
“We started publishing InnovationAus.com 11 months ago as a clearing house for policy ideas and policy developments across government. We haven’t always made friends with some of our commentary.
“But if we’re serious about providing a platform for a contest of ideas – and we are – then we have to make peace with the fact that some of these discussions will create friction,” Ms McLeod said.
“It is a testament to the maturity of this sector that so many industry groups have come together to get this debate off the ground, and InnovationAus.com is very proud to be associated with that effort.”
The Election 2016 Innovation Debate is open to all media, although seating is somewhat limited and should be reserved by contacting Amy Rathbone at amy@espressocomms.com.au
Limited sponsorship opportunities are also available. Please contact InnovationAus.com Director of Business Development at John@InnovationAus.com
A small number of seats have been released for general allocation and can be purchased here
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.