Space, a uniquely Australian opportunity

Martin Duursma, a partner at Main Sequence Ventures (The CSIRO Innovation Fund) suggests that 2018 will be the year that the Australian space ecosystem kicks into high gear.

A Prescription for Australian Innovation

The following is based on the speech delivered at the Global Access Partners National Economic Review: Australia’s Annual Growth Summit, 17 September 2010, by Martin Duursma, CTO Office Chair, Vice President of Citrix Labs, Citrix Systems.

Let me frame the discussion with a couple of statements:

1. The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.
2. Failure is good.

Today all of us find ourselves in an Australia that is one of the leading economies in the OECD, in large part due to our good fortune with our resources boom. But, is this a long term condition? Indeed if you think about the word ‘boom’, isn’t it usually followed by the word ‘bust’?

What we need today

There’s definitely something to be said for finally having a minister dedicated to the areas or research development and innovation in the Federal Government. And certainly when I met with Senator Kim Carr together with a group of IT industry representatives a few months ago, he’s making the right noises regarding the sorts of approaches which would lead to a more innovative economy.

What we need to see now is some action. Specifically we need the government to adopt legislation which encourages what might be termed a "virtuous circle of innovation" within the Australian economy.