WHILE acknowledging the Government’s Innovation Statement, the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) is using its 2016 pre-Budget submission to encourage the Government to support innovative small to medium enterprises (SMEs).

“Australia needs sound public policy to be developed to encourage innovation amongst small to medium enterprises (SMEs), said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.

“Around 10 per cent of Australian businesses produce innovative goods and services, while between 16 and 21 per cent innovate in their underlying business processes.

“Even if Australian SMEs are not the initial investors or innovators, they can still capture some of the value of innovations developed elsewhere.

“New-to-country, and particularly new-to-firm, innovations are often more economically important for improving national productivity.  Innovation policy should include measures to encourage the diffusion and uptake of existing innovations to a broad range of firms, as well as encouraging new innovations.

“Firms that can adopt continuous improvement methods to imbed incremental innovation can generate large productivity improvements.

“SMEs are an excellent starting point. Large firms often find it hard to change their business model to capture value, but SMEs can change them more easily.

“Accordingly, public innovation policy should encourage value capture and business model innovation more generally.  It is important that regulation helps firms capture value while balancing the benefits other firms receive from the wider diffusion of value.

“Talent not technology is the key.  Without addressing wider skills requirements, research indicates it is likely to create bottlenecks downstream in the innovation process.

“We believe that government plays an important role. They can provide strong research and development support, enabling better linkages between cutting edge universities and industry; provide support to firms to adapt existing technologies and innovation; and, encourage firms to develop their ability to search for new options, evaluate them and successfully implement and adapt them to their specific context,” said Mr Conway. 

For further detail refer to the IPA’s pre-Budget submission for 2016-17 on the IPA website at http://bit.ly/1PVGJX7

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TOWNSVILLE Enterprise chairman Kevin Gill said his organisation believed everything possible must be done to keep the doors of Queensland Nickel open.

"With much uncertainty around the future of Queensland Nickel (QNI) now is the time all levels of government must come together to keep the doors of QNI open and to save hundreds of jobs," Mr Gill said.

"Under no circumstances can the doors of QNI be allowed to close without every option being explored. No stone must be left unturned.

"Unemployment is a serious issue. We all know that the economy is vulnerable," he said.

"All levels of governments must stand shoulder to shoulder and do whatever is needed to find a solution to save the 550 jobs in jeopardy and the livelihoods of families.

"QNI contributes $1.3 billion into the local economy annually – once its gone, that’s it."

He said Townsville Enterprise had spoken with the State Government to urge it to explore all options to keep QNI afloat.

"The Government must lead this process – it has levers that it can pull if necessary," Mr Gill said.

www.tel.com.au

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NW DATA released today by the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research (NCVER) shows that steps to lower employment costs, stimulate economic growth and improve training quality are needed to address falling apprenticeship and traineeship numbers.

The NCVER report shows that nationally there were 295,300 apprentices and trainees in-training as at September 2015, a decrease of almost 14 percent from September 2014. Disturbingly, this represents a fall of around 40 percent from 2012 levels, when cuts to employer incentives were made by the federal government.

The drop off in the number of Victorian apprentices and trainees is even greater. There were 69,100 apprentices and trainees in-training in Victoria as at September 2015, a drop of 44 percent from 2012 levels.

“The alarming fall in national and Victorian apprentice and trainee numbers is damaging Victoria’s current workforce capacity and undermining our ability to develop a strong future workforce,” said Victorian Chamber Chief Executive Mark Stone.

“It can take a number of years for a young person to commence and successfully complete an apprenticeship, find work and become fully productive in their employment. This means addressing barriers to hiring apprentices and trainees must be a priority for governments at all levels.”

A recent Victorian Chamber survey found that business will be more inclined to hire apprentices and trainees if the cost of employing an apprentice or trainee is reduced, demand for business products and services is stimulated and confidence in the training system is improved.

“With youth unemployment a persistent problem, policy makers, business and education providers must work together to ensure young Victorians have the best chance of gaining a foothold in the workforce,” said Mr Stone.

“Failure to do so risks creating a lost generation of workers and damaging the ability of business to compete and innovate.”

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, established in 1851, is the most influential business organisation in Victoria, informing and servicing more than 15,000 members, customers and clients around the state.

victorianchamber.com.au  

THE Parliamentary Trade and Investment Growth Committee will resume public hearings in Canberra on Thursday, 3 March 2016 as part of its Inquiry into Australia’s Future in Research and Innovation.

The Committee is investigating how the research and innovation sector can better assist in overcoming Australia’s geographic, economic, and labour challenges, with a focus on commercialisation including, how technology imports and exports could be further facilitated.

The hearing will focus on strengthening links between innovative ideas and the commercialisation of innovation with the appearance of the Chief Scientist, the Innovation Australia Board, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

Advice to the Government on matters relating to science, technology and innovation is provided by the Chief Scientist and will be complemented by the soon-to-be-created Innovation and Science Australia which will be chaired by the chair of the Innovation Australia Board.

Support for public sector spin-off and start-up companies will be provided by the new $200 million Innovation Fund created under the National Innovation and Science Agenda and administered by the CSIRO.

The Chair of the Committee, Mr Ken O’Dowd MP said, “It is important to create a framework in Australia that fosters innovation, encourages and facilitates the proving of innovative ideas, and enables successful commercialisation. The Committee has previously met with the Chief Scientist of Israel to discuss the very successful Israeli innovation/commercialisation framework and is interested to hear how Australia will approach the same issues.”

“Innovation and Science Australia when established will be undertaking a review of the R&D Tax Incentive. Setting appropriate research and development tax incentives as well as providing support through CSIRO’s Innovation Fund for early stage commercialisation will be pivotal to establishing successful Australian start-up companies and diversifying the Australian economy,” Mr O’Dowd said.

Date: Thursday 3 March 2016, 9.00 am – 10.30 am
Location: Committee Room 1R6, Parliament House, Canberra.
The Committee will hold additional hearings in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne in March.

More information is available at: www.aph.gov.au/ResearchandInnovation

For background information: Contact the committee secretariat: Phone: (02) 6277 2233 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Website www.aph.gov.au/ResearchandInnovation

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