"Innovation"

[Crazy Dazz]

That seems to be the latest buzzword from the pollies.
When I hear it, I get the urge to reach down their throat and strangle them with their own tongue.

Sounds suspiciously like the 80's when Bob proclaimed we had to be the "clever country." Post mining-boom, hows that working out?

Exactly how many jobs do they think "innovation" is going to create?

Whether its the old "Necessity is the Mother of Invention" I don't know, but Australians have always been great innovators.
But where has that gotten us?

CSIRAC was one of the worlds first fully electronic computers. During the 50's' 60's, and even 70's Australian Universities were at the cutting edge of electronic research. Now many don't even offer the courses any more.
Back when Japan was still making slippers and pyjamas, we knew this would be the industry of the future. And how much of a share of that industry do we have now?
Back in the 80's & 90's a company I later worked for developed a world leading paperless office integration system. It literally won awards allover the world, and you've never even heard of it.
Did you know that Australian Currency technology is now in use allover the world?
We can innovate allright, but what's the point if we can't foster industry here?
And the problem is compounding. No industry means no jobs, no jobs means no students, no students means no university research, and ultimately the innovation dies.

Primary industry can nolonger provide large-scale employment. Basically anything labour intensive, either becomes mechanised, dies in the ****, or becomes the domain of Polish backpackers who think $20 a day is a living wage.
Mining, apart from going through a bust at the moment, is also becoming less labour intensive.
Service industries can only thrive whilst people have money to spend.
And of course what manufacturing we have left is also becoming more mechanised.
So where the heck are the jobs going to come from?

[Stefan]

This country has little to offer the world, we import more than we export. Not a good. Its only getting worse and I wonder what will be left for our kids other than mountains of debt.

[mcflux]

Originally Posted by Stefan

I wonder what will be left for our kids other than mountains of debt.

Those mountains will be offset by holes in the ground

[Trump]

How is it that regular Joes see it yet those in power either don't or choose not to see it?

[Pis-ton broke]

i think you make a lot of valid points. to innovate i thought it helps to have a good education, but i thought our education system wasn,t very good, correct me if im wrong.

how many times have you heard of a clever invention that has had to go overseas to get funding , and the govco isn,t interested.

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

Primary industry can nolonger provide large-scale employment. Basically anything labour intensive, either becomes mechanised, dies in the ****, or becomes the domain of Polish backpackers who think $20 a day is a living wage

i worked in primary industry for 25 years, not any more, because i have to travel to far to get work. also pay and conditions can be poor in-comparison to unskilled jobs.

i think a problem with the capitalist system is that it encourages companies to engineer out jobs , this is great for efficiency , but now a whole bunch of joe blows don,t have a job, how is that good?

[Moby Vic]

Maybe you could offer to offload the surplus US prison population.

[Junkyard-Dog]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

So where the heck are the jobs going to come from?

Men in blue suits driving around fining people for things that don't matter?

[wodahs]

suppose they recon we will eventually need to fill them mining holes with the crap of the world , cover and start again

I don't understand why we give our raw materials away for others to produce what we end up needing at least increase an export tax on the raw materials to help put us back on a playing field to be worth producing finished products here and reduce the export tax on finished so we move them , more people working will end up with more tax paid

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Pis-ton broke

how many times have you heard of a clever invention that has had to go overseas to get funding , and the govco isn,t interested.

Thats only the ones you hear. If an aussie has something that would value add to the country they need to go the US. Unfortunately the money isnt there. The changes by the libs is a good one, hopefully its enough to get people to stay and go from here.

Unfortunetley the government isnt investing in growung industries....i was really hoping with the mining boom over and car manufacturing coming to a close that they would be looking into this. I guess its easier to do nothing and blame someone else.

[Mowdit]

Originally Posted by Loud_Noises

How is it that regular Joes see it yet those in power either don't or choose not to see it?

oh, THEY SEE IT, and choose to line their own pockets

Both major parties offer p*** poor choices.
They tout improvements, and slip in the "quiet" changes..................

Soon Medicare will be privatized, and we all know that benefits BIG BUSINESS, NOT US

[Maka]

This thread is timely, within one year I will see first hand how the new federal gov supports & (I would like to add) help protect innovators too re: trade secrets & ip. Wish me luck lol!!!

cheer's, Maka

[Stefan]

Without getting into govco slag fest what are the options. We have nothing, the gate was left open and the horse has bolted.

I see zero prospect other than hospitality and tourism...job growth in a sectors that requires no qualification and pays bugger all.

I was reading an article that this will be a massive problem, as 150k mining jobs are replaced by 30k hospitality job. Tax revenue receding yet spending and welfare going the other way...a massive problem heading our way.

[Franco Cozzo]

Already seeing the future here where I'm based.

There are 20 coffee shops in town and they all charge up the *** and the coffee is crap

[2011G6E]

Misuse...deliberately usually to mislead the public...of words...

It's the same as when China for example BUYS huge areas of land, houses, and farming properties.
They are buying it, owning it completely...yet if anyone complains the government always says that this "investment" is great for the country...that foreign "investment" is a wonderful thing.

And it is.

Providing it's truly investment.

If you "invest" in something, the traditional meaning is not that you purchase it outright or buy it for yourself...you are putting some money in to own a share in it. I have shares...an investment...in my employers company. That doesn't mean I own the damn thing though. I own a small part of it.

However, when China buys those properties, it owns them, forever...it's not "investment"...but it's a nice way to try and quiet down the public outrage about it by giving it a soft term that doesn't openly say that we're literally selling the farm to foreign OWNERS...

[Pis-ton broke]

bob katter knows what your saying, there was an "Australia for sale" sign in his controversial add.

i agree with what you say too.